A Raven Among Crows
by mssierraalexis
Summary: The goddaughter of SAMDINO's President has an unlikely reputation with an even more unlikely goal when she moves to Charming after her father passes away. Her life's ambition has been to become the first female patched member and the recent downfall of SAMCRO is her best shot. Will her hidden skills earn her a reaper on her back, or will an unforeseen romance compromise her dream?
1. Welcome to Charming

**_Hiiii so just a few notes before you read! This is my first fic (or any creative writing at all) EVER so please be kind, I am NOT a writer and am sensitive little baby 😫 I'm aware that this entire plot is VERY unrealistic in the canon SOA universe but I have tried to write this story in a way where it ends up being justified and making sense if you give it a chance. I am also aware of how that sort of thing bothers people and I completely understand if this is not your cup of tea. This is just my fun little fantasy that I originally had written solely for my own enjoyment and not for the purposes of sharing, but I am posting after several requests from friends so please keep that in mind. I have changed certain events, timelines, come up with character backstory, etc. to fit my narrative, that's the fun thing about fanfic! If you have seen the show, you will be able to follow along and decipher what is canon/taken directly from the show, and what I have made up. I think it is canon enough that you get the SOA nostalgia, but AU enough that it is fun and exciting. In doing this, I mean no offense to SOA, SOA fans, or our lord and savior: Kurt Sutter._**

**_ aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!_**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, mentions of drug use/overdose, violence/death. **_

* * *

**CHAPTER 1: WELCOME TO CHARMING**

Sydney Harding rolled into the Teller-Morrow Auto Repair lot just after lunch on a nice, warm Thursday at the end of May, turning down 'California Dreamin' as it played over the radio, the engine of her Dodge Challenger growling low as she scoped out the homebase for SAMCRO.

The young woman had arrived in Charming a few days ago and was set to meet with the Northern Cali charter's President, Clay Morrow - a founding member. After years of pining, she was finally sent to the little old town of Charming by her Godfather, Les Packer - President of the San Bernardino charter. Her dad was the former Vice President of SAMDINO, renouncing his title to raise her when her mother overdosed 16 years ago. He had always told her that she would be the secret weapon of the SOA after he was done with her, _and that he was right._

SAMDINO had never been mixed up in enough to need the knowledge and skill set that Sydney possessed, so Packer sent her off to live her dream after the dust from her dad's death had settled. Her dream? To become the first female patch in SOA history. Not exactly the dream of most 22 year-old women, but it had been hers for as long as she could remember.

Sydney parked her car and before she could even get to the door handle she was approached by a young little thing, shy, strawberry blonde, about her age - undoubtedly a prospect. "Hi there, can I uh help you-" Her hearing faded as a mechanic working in the garage on the other side of the lot caught her eye, and by the way looks of it - she'd definitely caught his. He was tall, probably in his forties and oozing testosterone - dark, wild curls sat atop his head. As he got a little closer she was taken aback by his electric blue eyes, undoubtedly the most beautiful pair of eyes that she'd ever laid hers on.

She attempted to turn her attention back to the prospect as she got out of the car, removing her dark mirrored aviators. He was rambling about getting her in for an oil change when the dark haired man finally approached, he wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up underneath his mechanic's shirt, dark jeans, and a silver chain around his neck. She noticed the stitching on the lapel said 'Tig'. _Weird name_ \- she thought, undoubtedly a moniker, but it suited him. He was rugged - mean looking with facial hair and muscley forearms, he was the type that many people would call creepy, but that the ladies would undoubtedly love.

Sydney's attraction to older men wasn't exactly a new thing, growing up around bikers - the boys her age always seemed too immature, pretty, or weak. Trying to keep her composure under his stare, she pretended to be deeply engaged in what the prospect was saying, nodding and squinting as he rambled nervously.

"Sack, beat it." The mysterious man said gruffly, gesturing to the garage with a thumb - the prospect taking off without a second thought. His voice was like whiskey: smokey, smooth, and sending a shiver down her spine. "Hi there darlin, what can I do ya for?" He struggled to keep his eyes from falling to her impressive cleavage protruding from the tight grey tank top she was wearing. The eye catching old fashioned royal queens crown tattoo she had on the top of her left breast _definitely _was not helping his case. She could tell he was taking her in by the way he seemed to stare blankly like a lost puppy, she was used to men ogling at her, but what she wasn't used to was the urge to ogle back.

"You could do me for a few things." She smirked suggestively and nodded approvingly after giving him a once-over, chewing on the arm of her sunglasses and swaying her body slightly. "Your President around?" She asked nonchalantly, glancing to the row of Harleys lined up in the middle of the lot between the bar - which she knew would be their clubhouse - and the garage.

"You got an appointment?" He challenged with squinted eyes, cocking his head slightly. She knew immediately that he had to be of higher ranking in the club, either left or right hand by the way his eye twitched when she mentioned his President.

"Sure do." She replied cockily as she started to turn away from him with a playful open mouthed smile, sliding her gold necklace along its chain. "Darlin." She looked back, cocking her eyebrows and winking before starting her path to the clubhouse.

Tig assumed that since she wanted to see Clay, she must be a croweater trying to get in good with the club, but something about her was different, she didn't look like the trashy crows that flocked to him - and she didn't seem to act like one either. He watched her hips sway back and forth while she walked across the lot - which she emphasized a little of course, knowing he was watching. The view from the back was just as good as the view from the front and he couldn't help but groan slightly as he admired her hourglass figure and perfectly round ass in those tight black jeans, noting the pair of thighs that he wouldn't mind sitting his face tightly between. He continued skimming down her long legs, noticing the red soles of her black stilettos as they clacked against the pavement. Tig was no Wolf of Wall Street - that's for sure, but he had seen a fair share of cheap hooker heels in his day to know that these were not the shoes of a some penny whore looking to suck dick for a club that likely wouldn't give her a second thought.

He jogged across the lot before she could reach the door to the clubhouse, stopping her in her tracks and allowing him to slip past her. She was a bit surprised by the out of character way she reacted to him, nobody had ever made her jumpy before, but she quickly shook the thought out of her head, chalking it up to excitement over the new endeavour.

"I'll let him know you're here." He said, blocking the door slightly as he leant against it, a bent arm propped against the frame. "What's your name, beautiful?" He nodded his chin towards her, noticing her eyes as well: big, bright doe eyes in a dark forest green, the kind that looked jade in the sun and black in the shade. They weren't the shocking blue like his, but they were the most unique he'd ever seen.

"Sydney." She drew out sweetly, holding eye contact as a distraction as she brushed past him, his nostrils flooding with her scent: coconut lime shampoo and sweet perfume. "D'you wipe his ass too?" She asked, turning around to face him as she crossed the threshold, lips curling into a devious smile with one arm of her aviators in the corner of her mouth.

His wide eyed reaction of shock came through and a man sitting at the bar with deep scars across his face spit out his beer in laughter. She looked directly into Tig's eyes, placing one hand on her hip and raising her eyebrows, waiting for an answer. He just nodded and grimaced with his hand rubbing the back of his neck as if admitting defeat, she let her smile get bigger as he sauntered off into the back hallway.

Once he was out of sight she scanned the clubhouse quickly, gaining her bearings. She noted the long bar with a few patrons to her right, double doors straight ahead with the infamous wall full of framed mugshots was next to them - there was one in the clubhouse back home but it was not nearly as extensive as this one. There was a pool table in the back left corner next to a large stereo, a few couches, and a dart board. A stripper pole was to the right of the room, and next to that was a hallway which she assumed contained the dorm rooms and clubhouse amenities.

"Aye Lass, that was great, he's usually the one throwing the jabs, nice to see him take some." The scarred man said in a thick scottish accent, winking and making her chuckle quietly along with him. "So... Sydney, what're ye doin here at our fine clubhouse?"

"A girl can't come to a bar for a drink?" She challenged playfully with a slight squint and tilt of her head. He was about to say something when the double doors at the back of the room opened with a loud creak, revealing a large man: tall, broad, white hair - she immediately noticed the flash on his kutte that read 'President', this was Clay Morrow.

"Sydney." He said huskily, with a nod of his head toward the chapel. A scowl creeped across the face of the scottish man, who Sydney gave a devilish smile before walking away. As soon as the doors closed behind her, Tig emerged from the hall and walked up beside Chibs – the scotsman, and Bobby - an older overweight man with long hair and a long beard, taking the seat closest to the chapel beside them at the bar.

"What d'ya think she's talkin to Clay about?" Bobby mused.

"Probably just some gash looking for a favor she can do for the club." Chibs responded with a snort as Bobby raised his eyebrows and looked towards the doors.

"Nah brother, that's no crow." Tig stated distantly as he took a swig of his beer, eyes glued to the chapel doors and mind glued on her.

Clay closed the doors behind Sydney and pulled out a chair for her at the oblong shaped table that had the infamous reaper carved into it. "Sit'own." He ordered as he took his own seat at the head of the table. His voice was gravelly - much deeper than Tig's, than any man's voice she had ever heard before. It was the kind that carried, the kind that bellowed, _the kind that you wouldn't want to be threatened by_.

Clay Morrow was a smart man, he knew not to underestimate Sydney if she had Packer's stamp of approval, but he couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was that she had to offer. Other than the way she carried herself; walking fearlessly with confidence, she could easily be any other crow that walked in and out of here after swallowing a few loads - young, bleach blonde, big tits, tanned skin with bright eyes and a nice ass. He didn't know what to expect from her, but he knew that the element of surprise was on his side, and that's just what he was after.

Sydney knew that Clay had invited her to sit at the table as a test - prospects weren't even allowed at the table before they got a full patch. She remained standing, she knew and respected the reaper.

Clay smirked in approval and lit a cigar. "I hear you can be of service to me." Like most mean old men, he was short and to the point. If you didn't have anything to offer him, you were a waste of his precious time.

"I guess if that's what you heard, then it must be true." She snarked. He didn't expect her sass, but quickly remembered this was Les Packer vouching for her here, there had to be a damn good reason.

He chuckled to himself. "I guess so."

Luckily, Packer had done most of the talking with Clay already, so Sydney didn't have to explain that she was no pushover and she was most definitely no sweetbutt. "This place will become your home, these people will become your family." He paused, remembering who her father was and sighing sympathetically. "I'm sorry about your old man. James... He was a good guy."

"Thank you." She knew that her father was well respected among the charters, he and Clay had crossed paths many times over their decades in the club. She hadn't been introduced to many members outside of the San Bernardino charter - per her dad's request, and it had taken her a while to realize just why he did that, but coming to Charming had given her the clarity she needed to see the big picture he'd had in store for her, her entire life.

"You can work at the bar here, and help my wife out in the office. When I need you, you're expected to be here, just like my guys."

"Yes sir." She nodded. He didn't look directly at her when he spoke, giving her a rush of empowerment that she so desperately needed after her nerve wracking run in with Tig.

"Packer said you got a place off Main Street, won't be needing a dorm?" She nodded, smiling as she thought about the little house she'd scored just off of the main drag, around the corner from her new favourite bakery.

"Good. You can start your work here tomorrow morning, 11:00A.M."

"Sounds good." Sydney said flatly, like her other responses. She was excited, but she had learned over the years to keep her composure around men that she didn't know; being taught that sex sells, but business prevails.

Sydney turned toward the doors. "Oh, and Sydney?" She turned back around, Clay looking at her for the first time since she came in, sporting a grin of amusement. "Give my guys hell will ya?" His raised eyebrows, revealing blue eyes in the deep hollows of his face.

Her expression softened into her signature devilish smile as she looked over her shoulder "Oh you have no idea."

Sydney walked out of the chapel and back into the bar, the smell of cigarettes and whiskey flooding her nostrils. She spotted Tig staring at her from the bar, accompanied by the Scotsman and the older man from earlier. They turned away quickly, trying to look occupied with a conversation but she knew exactly what one they were having. She glanced down as she chuckled to herself before walking over to them, towards the exit, giving them side eye as she slowed her pace and eventually stopped. "Gentlemen." She nodded, smiling smugly as she continued to the exit. Tig's eyes were locked on her the entire time, Chibs and Bobby crinkled their eyebrows at him as he briskly walked over to the door and peered out the blinds the second it had closed behind her. _Hate to see her go… _Tig chuckled to himself.

Something about the curly haired man lingered with Sydney as she got in the car and shook her head, trying to straighten herself out. She started her engine and rolled down the window, _it is way too hot in this damn car_ \- her cheeks flushed, knowing the heat she was feeling had nothing to do with the temperature. She took a deep breath as if to suppress her thoughts and slid her sunglasses back on, flipping her long curls over her shoulder before putting her car in reverse, the sound of the rumbling engine serving to calm her nerves as she drove to her new home.

Sydney got to TM at 10:48A.M., just as she put her car in park, a woman with dark hair and blonde highlights pulled into the spot next to her in a black Escalade. _This must be Clay's wife._ Gemma Teller-Morrow was infamous among the charters, known as the SAMCRO queen - the old lady every sweetbutt aspired to be: a tough bitch, a major MILF, and someone you would not want to cross. Her reputation did not precede her, Gemma was the sexiest middle-aged woman Sydney had ever seen with her fancy car, and perfect body dressed in black leather, the woman radiated big dick energy.

Gemma immediately noticed the young blonde girl, walking over to her car window while holding a cigarette in her hand as she leaned down to speak to her. "You must be Sydney."

"How'd you guess?" She replied in a playful tone.

"Chibs told me about that rack of yours." She pursed her lips and looked at the cleavage busting out from the criss-crossed scoop neck of the black fitted shirt Sydney was wearing. Gemma raised her eyebrows as she met her eyes again. "Hard to miss." A bashful smile tugged at Sydney's lips, Gemma smirked and shook her hand, giving Sydney the feeling that they were going to get along just fine.

Sydney spent the morning learning about the work she would be doing around the compound, it seemed easy enough as she was good with paperwork and better with numbers. Gemma had done the liberty of pointing out a few of the guys to her, Half-Sack was the prospect she'd met yesterday - whose real name was Kip. She also learned that the scottish man from yesterday was named Chibs, the one who apparently had noticed her rack. Bobby was the older man, an Elvis impersonator, who Sydney had actually seen perform as a kid with her dad.

"What about that guy with the curly hair?" Gemma was no dumb bitch, shooting the new girl a knowing glance with a raised eyebrow, which she returned with a smirk and a playful eyeroll.

"That's Tig. He's Clay's right hand, Sergeant at Arms." Sydney mentally patted herself on the back for knowing that he was of high ranking in the club, patting even harder for the snide comment she'd made to him yesterday. "He already tryin to make a move on you?" Gemma asked with narrowed eyes, sounding like the protective mother that Sydney would soon learn she was.

The matriarch could tell that she didn't have to warn the intuitive girl about Tig. "I have a feeling he makes a move on anything with a pulse." Sydney scoffed, looking down at the order slips on her desk.

"And without". Gemma retorted.

5:00P.M. came and Sydney took her place behind the bar with Gemma, ready for her introduction as the guys would be back for church soon. A few minutes later the roaring sound of Harley's filled her ears - a sound that made her feel at home for the first time in the new town. "Nothing gets my panties wetter than that noise." She gawked, making Gemma laugh, the two of them warming up to each other quickly.

Members started to pour in, most of them coming up to introduce themselves to the mysterious new blonde behind the bar. Gemma stayed with Sydney, they both knew that she could handle herself, but the watchful eye of the matriarch definitely didn't bother her.

"I figured I'd be seeing you here again Lass" Chibs said as he walked up to the bar, Sydney decided to make an even more lasting impression than her memorable first one by leaning forward onto the bartop, pushing her tits up under the weight. Her cleavage doubled and she saw his eyes widen and drop immediately down to her chest.

"You thought right, Scotty." She tipped him a wink.

She looked past the stunned Scotsman and waved to Bobby as he walked past the bar into the chapel, smiling and waving politely. "Hello there sweetheart."

Clay entered the bar and looked over at her and Gemma, making his way over to kiss his wife on the cheek, pouring himself a glass of scotch. "How's it goin here so far?" He asked Sydney.

"Good, I –" She cut her sentence short as a scary looking man walked in, bald, covered in tattoos, and a cold expression. He didn't make eye contact, clearly thinking she was just a regular blonde crow as he looked at the ground, taking a seat at the bar. "You think you're just gonna fucking walk in here without giving me the greeting I deserve?" His head snapped up with a look of murder in his eyes, worry immediately washing over everyones faces as the new girl challenged the most lethal man they knew.

As soon as the threatening man made eye contact with the bitch who dared to speak to him that way, his expression softened and his eyes sparkled. "You think you're fuckin special?" He rasped.

A grin spread across Sydney's face and a twinkle found its way into her eye as everyone looked between the two of them. A few of the guys eventually caught on, making the connection between her, and his time in San Bernardino.

Happy dropped the facade and returned her grin, running around the bar to pick her up into a hug. "What the hell you doing here Princess?" Clay knew all about her relationship with Happy, thanks to Packer. He had decided to keep her presence a secret, knowing he would need some back up once her transfer was brought to the table.

Happy Lowman was originally patched to the Tacoma charter, but went Nomad when his mom got sick, bringing him to San Bernardino where he spent time with in SAMDINO with Sydney and her dad while she was growing up, he'd been a huge part of molding her into who she was, kind of like a big brother… A big brother she liked to flirt with just to get under that tightly stretched skin of his.

The stoic Nomad had moved on from San Bernardino a couple years ago when his mom's health had began to improve, he visited frequently but it had been months since Sydney had seen him apart from her dad's celebration of life. When Packer gave her the go ahead to transfer, her first thought was to tell Happy, but Packer had insisted that she wait to see if it was a good fit, and now she knew why.

"Finally let me go." She smirked. Happy had known how badly she'd wanted to live up to her full potential and fight for a seat at the table. Home wasn't the place for that, she'd pushed for a send off for years, and she finally got it.

"I'm sorry about your old man... Miss him everyday." He repeated the same thing she had been hearing for the past month, kissing her on the cheek. As close as Sydney was with Happy, he wasn't a man of many words - given he spoke to her more than almost anyone else - she rarely knew the details of where he was going or who he was with as it was strictly 'need to know'. Over the years of harassing him with questions and trying to get him to communicate like a normal person to no avail, she'd grown to just accept that he would always resurface, and was just a phone call away.

"**Trying to slip away without telling me again?" Sydney said with amusement from the doorway of Happy's dorm in the SAMDINO clubhouse, watching him hurriedly pack his shoulder bag for the ride. He only grunted in response, causing her to roll your eyes. "You know if you would just tell me** **where you were going, I would stop bugging you about it." She stated simply. **

"**You don't need to know, little girl." He returned to packing his bag. Happy had known of her dream to patch for years - but he'd known of her father's plan for her, longer. He knew she would dig if she had all the intel, and it was too early for that.**

**Sydney scoffed, crossing the room to the chair and sitting down. "Always the same damn answer. I don't get it Hap, you trust me with more than you trust anyone else with but I don't get to know where you're going." Her casual tone gradually got more and more sassy, the frustration poking through.**

"**It ain't about that." His back was still to her, she knew it was no use getting worked up over his lack of explanation and attention to the matter, if Happy had his mind made up, there was no changing it. "You got a secret girlfriend you're hiding from me?" He smirked over his shoulder, raising a brow in response to her absurd question before turning back to the dwindling pile of ill fitting garments. "Don't think you're getting a break from training, Tank's gonna keep you goin while I'm gone." **

"**You say it like I want a break." She said with a cocky smirk, earning her another discerning look from the Tacoma Killer, they both knew that he worked her too hard but he could never get her to admit it. She smiled at his reaction, standing to take her leave. "Ride safe. See ya soon Happy Feet." **

"**I should be the one tellin you that." He called after her, an evil smile of pure satisfaction spreading across her face as she bounded out of his room and down the hall.**

Sydney found herself realizing for the first time how odd it was that the charters seemed so disconnected, they were around when they needed things yes - but the Sons of Anarchy were supposed to be a brotherhood, whether they were from the same charter or not. It seemed that somewhere along the way, it had become more about business than brothers. Members from other charters knew each other vaguely or knew _of_ each other, but most didn't have decades of memories as they should've.

"Thanks Hap. I'm so glad you're here, it's nice to see a friendly face." Sydney cupped his cheek, noticing it was the first sound of true sincerity in her voice since she had arrived in Charming, no business or cryptic bullshit.

Clay spit out his liquor, a reaction to Sydney ironically calling Happy a 'friendly face', making Bobby, Jax, and Chibs laugh. The Tacoma Killer was ruthless, relentless, fearless, and Sydney's reputation as the Cali Queen wasn't much different.

Juice, Tig and Half-Sack stood motionless, jaws on the floor, matching Gemma's expression. They knew immediately that if Happy would crack a smile for her, they were in for one hell of a ride.

* * *

_**Songs for this chapter**_

_**Devil - Shinedown**_

_**Rearview Town - Jason Aldean**_

_**California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas**_

_**Adam Raised a Cain - Bruce Springsteen**_

_**Castle - Halsey**_


	2. Bare Bones

_**Chapter 2 begins right where chapter 1 leaves off! In hindsight I should've just merged the two but its fine :))) Also I played up Happy's Latino background hardcore bc everyone likes to pretend that the man is white :/**_

_** aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, mentions of drug use/overdose, violence/death. **_

* * *

**CHAPTER 2: BARE BONES**

"Wanna be my first?" Tig was pulled from his daydream by Sydney's suggestive tone and dirty smirk. His face only went from one level of dazed to the next, realizing he had completely zoned out when he heard what sounded like a proposition coming from her.

She raised an eyebrow as he visibly snapped out of his thoughts, finally realizing that she meant first customer, although he could've sworn there was some double entendre in her question.

"Savin yourself for me doll? I'm honoured." He placed a hand on his heart.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." She cooed.

He chuckled, his mind slipping back under before she pulled him right back out by clearing her throat and staring at him with expectant, wide eyes as she gestured to the alcohol on the shelves behind her. "Oh uh..." He realized she was still waiting for an order, squinting to try to pass off his 'deer in the headlights' behavior as indecisiveness. "Just a beer darlin."

"Wow, determined to make me showcase my bartending skills huh?" She said sarcastically. He began to chuckle again before realizing that he was supposed to be in church, quickly collecting his beer and shuffling into the chapel where he was greeted by an uproar of laughter and knowing grins before the start of church signalled as Clay lit his cigar.

"Gonna make this quick. We got two things on our table, our warehouse, and that sweet little San Bernardino tart." Tig stiffened at the mention of Sydney, inhaling sharply and shaking the thoughts out of his head, the action eliciting smiles of amusement from Bobby and Chibs.

"What the hell are you thinkin here?" Jax demanded an explanation.

"_We_ are thinking outside the box." Clay snarled. Jax's reaction was nothing less than expected from a member of the Sons of Anarchy, especially the Vice President of the mother chapter - however, tensions rising between him and Clay had them constantly down each other's throats. The guys had started picking up on it, assuming it was some kind of power struggle, an internal beef that Jax had with his stepdad.

"Didn't think to bring it to the table first?" Jax's eyes were wide and his words were dripping venom as he indirectly accused his President of going behind the club's back.

"We don't expect it, no one else will." Happy piped up, his raspy voice carrying from his seat across the table.

"You vouch for her brother?" Chibs questioned - shocked and confused. Happy was one of the most feared members in the Sons, everyone knew that he wouldn't put his reputation on the line for just anyone.

He tipped his strong chin in a nod, everyone at the table accepting his statement. "Got no idea what you're in for." He warned with a smirk.

"She's Packer's goddaughter, James was her old man. She ain't a piece of pussy for us to pass around. We don't respect her the way we respect each other, we gonna be dealin with more than the Tacoma Killer." Clay gave Happy a pointed look.

A wave of sighs and small gasps washed over the table as brows wrinkled and foreheads creased. Everyone in the club knew who James was, although their knowledge was not nearly as strong when it came to his daughter. However, if Sydney could handle SAMDINO _and _Happy, they knew she had to have something or another to contribute. She held the respect of multiple high-ranking club members by the balls, this set the realization into them that she was to be treated as such.

"Know her well. She's familia. Wouldn't back this shit if I wasn't sure." Happy reassured his rarely earned approval.

"Alright then." Jax backed down.

"Besides, if she don't work out, we got somethin nice to look at around here." Clay said with a grin, earning some light cheering from the testosterone packed room.

"No shit... Is she that one everyone talks about you shackin up with?" Juice exclaimed in realization as he recounted the multiple visiting members who had spoken of Happy getting cozy with a young blonde in San Bernardino.

"The one Donut talked about... Blonde, big tits, legs for miles, that's her boys." Tig nodded, his tone faltering as he tried to hide the disappointment when he found out that his new fixation was already claimed by his heavily tattooed brother.

"It aint like that." Happy snarled with an angry look in his smokey eyes, enough for everyone to believe that what he was saying was the truth, or at least not to question him about it.

"Okay... What about the warehouse? What do we know?" Juice moved to the next topic, trying his best to avoid conflict with the other bald man sitting at the table.

"Nothing yet." Clay started. "My guess is the Mayans, not takin too kindly to our partnership with Laroy. Taking his shipment and cuttin off the ability to get another."

"If we lose the Niner business, we buy ourselves a huge black probl-."

"That ain't gonna happen." Clay cut off the negative statement of his Vice President, slamming his hands down on the table. "These mexi-assholes come into our territory." He pointed aggressively. "They steal from _us. _They shit on _our_ livelihood. Now I don't care who we gotta grease, or kill. I want those goddamn guns back." He sneered through gritted teeth before taking a breath and calming down. "We got Tigger goin up to meet with Trammel to find out more." Tig nodded affirmatively.

"Alright" Jax retreated, appeasing Clay's outburst.

"Treasury? How we lookin with a rebuild hangin over our heads?"

"Rebuild is a long way's away brother." Bobby's words made Clay wince. "All bills are paid, bar is stocked, run fund is covered for the next two months, Tig is the only man who owes me dues."

"I'm a little short, catch you next week" Tig winked.

"Guess those little Thai boys are gettin expensive huh?" Happy razzed before laughter erupted.

"Yeah they are, how bout I slit your eyes and have you suck my dick." Tig shot back with a sinister grin, Happy motioned to the dark haired man to bring it on, both of them laughing along with everyone else. Clay smiled and let himself have a laugh before concluding the session with a smack of the gavel.

"I've never seen Tigger that stunned before." Gemma disclosed to Sydney as soon as the chapel doors shut.

"Oh yeah?" She had a smug smile, knowing that to hold the Sergeant at Arms patch, Tig had to be just as cold as Happy - which boosted her ego even higher knowing she was able to make him nervous.

"I've seen that man bag hundreds of women over the years, never have I once seen him actually pay any mind to one." It was true, Gemma had witnessed Tig charm his way into the pants of almost every woman who walked through the clubhouse doors, but the way he looked at Sydney was different. The matriarch had a hard time believing that it was love at first sight, this _was_ Tig afterall, but she knew that he was intrigued by the new girl at the very least, which is more than she could say about his level of interest in any other gash.

The chapel doors flew open as Jax made his way over to the two women. Sydney figured the timing was probably best, not giving her a chance to read too deep into the words of the queen.

"So, you must be Sydney." Jax greeted with a boyish grin. Gemma had told Sydney about her son earlier, but she hadn't yet been properly introduced to her Vice President.

Jackson Teller was Vice President for a reason - with a panty-dropping smile like that, the man could get anything he wanted on this earth. He lifted Sydney's hand and nodded to her formally.

"And you must be the SAMCRO prince I've heard so much about." She responded with a flirty smile.

Jax looked down and blushed, looking back up to meet her eyes. "Hm, I don't know about the prince part." He winked.

Another smooth talker with an even smoother voice, Sydney immediately picked up on the fact that Jax effectively dampened the panties of the ladies by being sweet and charming, not rough and gruff like some of the others. Not her style, but tempting nonetheless.

"I can see why they call you VP." She cocked her brows and gave him a once over. Gemma stiffened a bit, clearly protective over her only living son and still weary about the San Bernardino tart who had taken up residence in Charming.

Jax noticed his mother's discomfort and immediately steered the conversation in a more serious direction. "Clay filled us in on what you're doin here, I'm sorry to hear about your old man, I know how that is. You'll be taken care of here."

"Thank you." Sydney replied with a genuine smile. She appreciated the warm welcoming, but wondered just how much Clay had actually told them about her if Jax seemed to think that she needed taking care of.

Jax retreated to the pool table and Sydney resumed serving drinks to bar patrons, the hang-arounds and crows seemingly warming up to her quickly. Tig gave her a quick glance as he stalked out of the bar, luckily for her, he was in too much of a hurry to catch her blushing. She assumed he was on special club business - which she hadn't been filled in on yet, little did they know that she had begun watching their every move to try and get herself ahead of the game. If she was getting into bed with SAMCRO, she was going balls deep.

From what she had gathered so far, their warehouse had been torched, likely by a rival gang. She assumed the warehouse was used as a housing facility for whatever illegal goods they sold - which she already knew to be guns. San Bernardino had always been split about guns. Some wanted them - most didn't, so the vote never passed - much to her dismay. She was thrilled when Packer had given her the nod to head north, with her dad gone, San Bernardino was nothing but a prison for her.

_Smart of them using a warehouse out of local jurisdiction_, a clear indicator that Charming P.D. was not on Clay's payroll - not all of them at least, meaning that San Joaquin P.D. probably was. The explosion was the reason Packer had sent her to Charming in the first place, knowing that her time had come to reach her full potential and a weakness in a club was the best time to slip through the cracks and prove herself worthy.

As the night went on, Sydney's usual routine of breaking the hearts of thirsty men began in the new town as she turned away hangarounds looking to get in on some of SAMCRO's scraps. She'd noticed the Sons eyeing her from time to time, trying to figure out what made her special enough to be recruited to the mother chapter, more than just a regular whore helping out the club.

She felt an arm against her back and a hand on her shoulder, squeezing protectively, not surprised to look over and see Happy glaring at his brothers, a glare that she recognized all too well. "Easy, Happy Meal." She pressed a hand against his chest reassuringly. "I'm just a shiny new toy. Let the little boys play."

Happy didn't let up on his stare or his grip as he grunted at the sound of his least favorite of all her nicknames for him. "Y'aint a damn toy, girl."

"Maybe not to you." She teased.

"You let me know if there's trouble." He stated firmly. Sydney scoffed in response, the two of them knew full well that anything he could do to the men causing problems, she could probably do in half the time. Happy shuffled away, grabbing a croweater by the arm and dragging her to the dorm room he was occupying, She chuckled to herself at the familiar squabble that always ended the same way.

She realized that her shift at the bar was almost over when she noticed Tig return, Clay immediately walking to the chapel to meet him there. "What'd Trammel have for us?"

"Arson, coupl'a sets of cowboy boots at the scene." Tig said, knowing what this meant.

"Mayans?" Clay sneered.

"Gotta be brother, they ain't happy that were sellin to black." Tig said, shaking his head as he rubbed the back of his neck in contemplation. He looked up, out the shaded window and into the bar, seeing Sydney talking with a couple of croweaters. "So, she really gonna be able to help us out?" He prodded for more information.

Clay narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly what the famous womanizer was thinking. "We start thinkin about retaliation." He said in an attempt to keep his Sergeant focused, exiting the chapel.

Tig's eyes landed right on Sydney when he entered the bar, his anger over the Mayans fading into the background as the distraction took over. He walked over to the bar, rounding it and standing next to her. She raised a brow and looked up at him questioningly. He held out his hands, feigning innocence. "What? No kisses for your man?"

"My _man_?" She sneered playfully with a discerning expression.

"Don't believe in love at first sight?" He mused with squinted eyes.

She felt her soul ignite as her ego fed off of his. "Not until now." She flirted back, giving him a dramatic once over with her lip between her teeth

"Boyfriend wouldn't like you talkin to me that way." He shook his head in mock disapproval. She couldn't help but hand it to the man for the clever way he managed to ask if she was single.

She snorted. "Wouldn't like the way I'm lookin at you either." Her eyes trailed him as she nodded lazily, her tongue rolling underneath her top lip. The gesture alone was enough to get his blood pumping in all the right places, but the sight of her tongue ring got him even more riled up. He noticed that she actually had a multitude of piercings, her ears were full of shiny rings and studs and she had a silver hoop in her nose - it got him wondering what other piercings she might be hiding under those clothes...

"Lucky for us, the boyfriend thing ain't for me." She turned away, walking towards the fridge.

"Oh yeah? Girlfriend thing then." He surmised with a shit eating grin. _Typical_.

"When I'm in the mood." She purred, swaying her body for him.

He smirked at her before walking around to his proper side of the bar, surprised by her reaction, he knew she had a smart mouth, but he didn't expect her to play so heavily into his flirting. "So, Princess and the Tacoma Killer huh?"

She scoffed. "Now wouldn't that be a fairytale."

Her answer was not nearly as telling as he hoped it would be, so he decided to change the subject, figuring that maybe the new girl needed a little warming up first. "Who all do you know if you're from San Bern."

"Hm... Apart from DINO?" She took a second to think. "Quinn, Hopper, Donut from Tacoma, I never actually met Bobby but I saw one of his Elvis shows when I was little." Tig chuckled.

"Quinn's a good guy. Could scare the shit outta me."

Sydney giggled. "Nah Quinn isn't nearly as scary as he looks, he's a big softy just like Hap." She smiled.

Tig couldn't contain the laugh that rumbled in his chest when she called Happy a softy. "Sweetheart... Have you _met _Hap?"

She laughed along. "Don't believe me?"

Tig raised an eyebrow in response. "You know he's almost shot people just for tryna chat with him right?" She chuckled, unable to help but find it wildly ironic that the famously stoic Tacoma Killer - the man who didn't care about anything, was so easily bothered by something as little as someone looking for some conversation.

"Hey, I never said he didn't have a temper." She laughed. "You'd be surprised how patient he can be, and I don't mean being nice to the whores for a quick hummer, I mean _actually _being sweet."

"Hap bein patient and sweet..." He spoke with a scoff. "I'd pay to see that."

"If you would pay to see him be patient, I'd like to find out what you would do to see him be _comforting_." She smirked with a glimmer in her eye.

Tig barked out a laugh. "Okay _now _I know you're lyin."

"What's the truth gonna cost ya?"

"Oh baby... I'd give you anything you wanted." He flirted.

"Hmmm..." She drummed the bar top with her nails, an evil smirk plastered on her face while she contemplated just how much she could milk him for. "I need a tour guide." She announced after some thought, using the opportunity to secure some more time with the curly haired charmer.

"Huh?" Tig had gotten lost in her eyes as she contemplated the stakes.

"Around Charming!" She kept her tone light and playful.

Tig grinned, realizing the situation provided him with a double jackpot. "You're on."

"Has he looked this way since you got here?" She asked with her eyes trained on Happy had emerged from the hallway and was now standing near the table by the stripper pole. She wasn't in his field of view, but she knew she was always under his watchful eye.

"Nah." He answered quickly.

She snorted. "Confident answer for someone who's spent the last 10 minutes gawking at me. You didn't even notice ginger snap over there tryin to get your attention." A smug look easily found its way onto her face. Tig's eyes widened as he looked around in bewilderment, finally landing on the red haired croweater who was sulking in Juice's lap, turning back to meet Sydney's knowing smirk before she slinked away from the bar and over to Happy.

Sydney's demeanour drastically changed in the short walk across the room - dropping her head and shoulders, shuffling on the soles of her stilettos and wrapping her arms around herself. Once she reached him, she said nothing as she tucked herself into his side.

Happy flinched, lifting his arm and jumping back, apparently not expecting to be touched so gently. His brow creased and concern washed over his face, softening the mean mug that he presented to the world. "What's wrong?" He spoke with a trace of panic as he checked her over before quickly pulling her into his arms as if to shield her vulnerability. She nudged him over to the bar where the crowd was sparse. "What's going on?" The worry laced his usual demanding tone.

Another surprising thing that Happy was, was intuitive - the man was easily irritated by emotional outbursts but he knew which ones required his attention and which ones he could brush off and he could tell that something this out of character was not to be brushed off.

Sydney looked to the floor, fiddling with the rings on her fingers. "I don't know I just-"

"Who was it." His tone was all business now as he grew angry - not with her, but with the thought of someone, somehow making her this uncomfortable. He knew that she held her own just as well as he could defend her, but this type of reaction was wildly out of character. He concluded that maybe she was intimidated by all the new faces, blinded by her desire for a spot somewhere that mattered, not knowing what would happen if she were to stand up to them.

"No one. Hap I'm just-" Her voice started to shake uncontrollably as she looked to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut while her shoulders started vibrating. His rough hands cupped her dropping face, lifting it to meet his impossibly dark eyes. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, knowing how much more upset it would make her, content that the coast was clear when the only threat nearby was currently passed out over the bartop. He kissed her forehead, pulling her into his chest. "This aint like you. Tell me what's wrong and I'll fix it." He spoke into her hair, running his rough hands up and down her arms as soothingly as a killer could.

"I just need you to calm me down." She whimpered into his chest as her breathing laboured.

"Yes I will." He nodded.

She nodded back, lifting her arms to wrap around his neck. "Thanks Hap, I knew I wasn't wrong when I said you were a softy."

Happy scowled as her voice switched back to normal and Tig bursted out laughing. He abruptly pulled away from her, the look on his face of absolute shock was the cherry on top, enough to finally shake loose the laugh that she had been stifling the whole time.

"The fuck?"

Sydney sauntered over to where the equally guilty Sergeant was seated, leaning over the bar top. "I like this one Hap." She said with a flirty smile, keeping her eyes trained on Tig's as she spoke.

"Oh yeah? C'mere dollface, show you somethin else you'll like." He grinned as he patted his knee. Sydney shook her head slowly with her bottom lip between her teeth. _Yes, she could definitely have some fun with this one._

Happy angrily stormed away, leaving her and a cackling Tig in his wake. "Now Princess, that was some top grade shit... You got Hap wrapped right around that pretty little finger don't ya?" She just smirked in response. He leaned in closer to her, dipping his mouth towards her ear. "Id'a done it for free."

She felt bubbling in her stomach, something about the way he spoke... "Don't worry, I got a couple things in mind that you can give me for free." She replied in a tone cocky enough to rival his, watching his jaw go slack as he processed her words, tipping him a wink before she went to serve the last of the hangarounds that had been waiting on drinks.

After some time, Sydney noticed Tig was still seated at the bar and was showing no signs of leaving to join the rest of his brothers in the 'all you could eat buffet' of women spread before them.

"How you likin it here so far?" He asked once her attention belonged to him again.

"Beer, pussy." She shrugged. "What more could a girl ask for?" She said sarcastically, letting it show in the playfulness of her voice that she genuinely did love this life.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you can say that again." He reached into the pocket of his kutte, fishing out a pack of smokes. "He's in love with you." He blurted matter of factly as he lit up his cigarette, deciding to test the matter again after the display he'd witnessed. Never in a million years did he imagine he would see Happy looking at anything the way he looked at the little blonde from San Bernardino - except maybe blood.

"You always so observant?" Sydney asked with squinted eyes and a hint of finality in her tone. She had dealt with people's uncertainty over her relationship with Happy, her whole life. The two of them knew what they were and that was all that mattered to her. She never bothered setting people straight, it left the door open for interpretation, and that was a door that Sydney loved to leave wide open.

"Hear you're gonna help us out… That's new." He retreated, sensing that the stoic Nomad was not the only one who didn't open up much about his personal affairs.

"You heard right-" She peered her head to the left to read the 'Sgt. At Arms' patch on his kutte as if she didn't already know his name and rank. "Sergeant." She said in a sultry voice, eyes glinting slightly while raising an eyebrow and cocking her head, practically seeing him hardening at the sound of her voice as he stared at her. "So, you get any good intel from your special friend up in San Joa.?" She asked playfully, taking him from stunned to petrified. _Clay must've told her what was up already, _Tig thought as he squinted and studied her expression.

"Clay tell ya what we been dealin with?"

"No." She replied with a cocky tone and devilish smile, leaning onto her arms resting on the bartop, looking right into his eyes and watching him squirm under her penetrating gaze.

Tig softened as he looked at her, really taking in all of her features this time as his mind wasn't as overwhelmed. She had smooth skin, big pouty lips that were begging to be put to good use, high cheekbones and a cute ski-slope nose. Her teeth were perfectly straight with an even more perfect smile that could knock any grown man on his ass.

Sydney chuckled at his gawking as he stared at her in a state of awe. "I don't bite-" Her lips curled up. "Much." She finished, cocking her head and seeing a flash of excitement overtake his face.

"I do." He managed out in a low growl with a lazy expression on his face, those baby blue eyes piercing right through her, the wash of excitement hitting her face now.

She licked her lips before clamping her teeth over the bottom one. The man emanated sex from every cell in his body. She could smell the grease, leather and tobacco mixed with his cologne, the scent drawing her in like a magnet, she had to stop herself from leaning all the way into his neck and sinking her teeth into that delicious looking vein.

Looking down from her gaze and at her lips, he brought the cigarette to his mouth. "You stayin for a bit?" He asked in a hushed tone, matching her leaning slightly, his face now only about a foot from hers as they sat hunched over the bar that separated them.

She seized the opportunity to snap herself out of the trance he had begun to sweep her under. "No." She replied, grabbing the cigarette from his mouth and placing it into her own, taking a drag and blowing the smoke in his face. "But you can walk me to my car." She smiled playfully as she turned around to grab her purse.

Tig tried to hide the smile forming across his face. "Right this way darlin" He said, motioning for the door.

Juice and Bobby watched the entire encounter from the pool table. "You ever seen him act like that?" Juice asked the Elvis impersonator who gave him an amused look and widened his eyes.

"Never."

As Sydney walked around to the front of the bar where Tig was waiting, she took another drag before placing the cigarette back into his mouth and heading for the door.

He jumped up, beating her to it and pushing it open "After you, beautiful." The awestruck look might have faded from his face but it was still very much present in his voice. She looked up into his eyes and smiled mischievously, her gaze following him over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

Tig had his arm wrapped around her shoulders the entire way to her car. Her nerves jolted at his touch, luckily her body didn't respond quite as fiercely, but it was enough for him to smirk at himself when he felt her tense up. "So what's the deal with you dollface?" He unwrapped his arm from her as they approached her car, making her wish it was still there.

"What d'ya mean?" She feigned innocence, looking at the ground while she twirled her gold necklace in her fingers, knowing exactly what he meant. He brought his hand up to rest against the metal frame beside her, boxing her in while her back was against the car.

"With the club, you don't look like the type to be caught up in this shit." He clarified.

She brought her hand up, running her fingers up his stomach to his chest, lifting her chin at the same pace, looking right into his eyes. "You don't like the way I look Tiggy?" She gave a subtle pout and lightly batted her eyelashes.

He flinched a little when she said his name for the first time. "Oh no darlin." His voice was full of exaggerated care as he shook his head and grasped her hand sincerely. "That aint the case at all." His tone quickly became hungry as he bit his lip and looked her up and down, humming in approval.

"Well good, you're gonna be seein alotta me."

The sexual tension in the air could be cut with the knife strapped around his thigh. Sydney was the one who broke the contact with a playful smile as she got in her car. "I hope so." She heard his muttering as she shut her door.

"Thanks for making sure I got to my car safe... Sergeant." She winked as she reversed out of her parking spot, leaving Tig standing speechless yet again. He didn't know what had come over him, he hadn't chased pussy since he fell in love well over 20 years ago, he hadn't even loved the mother of his children. He was usually great with women - as his reputation stood, but he couldn't read her, she was different, not falling to his feet at his charm like he was used to. He had no idea who she was, and he felt a massive need to find out.

Tig walked back to the clubhouse in his daze, oblivious to the watchful eyes of the king and queen.

"Gonna nip that before it starts?" Gemma asked, not taking her eyes off of Tig from where she and Clay sat in the TM office.

"Nah… Not yet."

* * *

_**Songs for this chapter**_

_**Horns - Bryce Fox**_

_**Hurricane - Halsey**_

_**Special - Ashnikko**_


	3. The Build

_**~And this is where I lose you~**_

_**This chapter is the bane of my mf existence, over the last year and a half of writing this story, this is the chapter that I have changed, added to, etc. The beginning takes place one day after the previous chapter, then there is a time jump of two weeks but there are LOTS of flashbacks (in bold) to events that occured within those two weeks because I eventually came up with far more material to fill those two weeks with and for whatever reason cannot make myself edit it to be chronological because of the self reflection done by the characters. Pls bare with me I PROMISE the other chapters are not such a cluster fuck😅**_

_** aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, mentions of drug use/overdose, violence/death. **_

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: THE BUILD**

"You ever fucked a Son?" Tig asked while sitting at the bar as Sydney worked her first Saturday night shift. A question she'd heard far too many times...

**Sydney emerged from Happy's dorm in the SAMDINO clubhouse on the morning after her 21st birthday party and **_**boy**_ **was she feeling it. After an hour and a half of puking her guts out, she was going to make an attempt at the meal Happy's mom had prepared for her for this exact moment. **

**The only way anyone was able to convince her to go to bed last night was if her pillow would be her favorite set of abs - which Happy was less than pleased about as her neediness in her drunken state cut down his gash hunt for the night. Over the years he had become accustomed to Sydney taking up space in his bed, and somewhere along the way her cuddly nature stopped annoying him, but his ability to adapt did not go as far as overshadowing his frustration about being cock-blocked.**

**Sydney's feet hit the bottom of the stairs where she was met with the raised brow of her father who was sitting at the bar reading the paper, feigning oblivion to the mounds of passed out bodies around the room as a result of her birthday bash. All she could do was groan, which turned into a chuckle when his exaggerated all-knowing expression didn't fall. "Had a good night did we?" He recited in an awful British accent. She realized she was still a little drunk when she laughed much harder than intended, but she let her old man think it was because he was funny. **

"**As if anyone here would've let me have it any other way." She took a seat in the barstool next to him and buried her head into her arms on the bartop. **

"**Only turn 21 once." **

**She slowly raised her head, as not to get dizzy. "I think I'm actually glad about that." Partying was a way of life when it came to being an associate of the Sons of Anarchy, but last night was a whole new level. **

"**You sleep in Hap's room?" James asked casually, to which his daughter responded with a nod that took as little effort as possible. **

**Sydney had slept in the same bed as Happy since he would babysit her when she was young, it was something she never outgrew. Her dad trusted the Tacoma Killer with his life, and trusted the judgment of his daughter even more. He knew Hap wouldn't step out of line, and if something did happen he knew it would be her decision, which never bothered him.**

"**You sure there's nothin goin in there? No hiding the sausage?" He asked cautiously, throwing humour into the situation in typical 'James' fashion.**

"**Dad." Sydney groaned, not being able to help the chuckle that rumbled from her aching chest. **

"What makes you think that I ain't a daisy fresh girl?" Sydney pouted, feigning offense at Tig's question.

He looked at her with amusement in his eyes and a raised brow. "I can tell what type of girl you are from a mile away, Princess."

"Oh yeah?" She raised an eyebrow in question, an amused smile pulling her lips apart.

"Yeah... I can." His voice dropped an octave as he leaned in closer to her. "You're one of those girls who likes it dirty and degrading."

Sydney could feel the bubbling arousal in her chest spreading throughout her body, the way the words came out of his mouth in a growl had her eyes fluttering. "Mmmm." She hummed in approval, leaning closer and tilting her head to the side as she approached him. "Maybe I am. You gonna degrade me to find out?" With how close she was to his mouth she could practically taste him, but it was a taste that she wanted to savour. She pulled away with an evil smirk on her face.

"So who's askin?" She asked with amusement and raised a brow, scanning the room full of SAMCRO members and associates, acting as if she wasn't ready to climb over the bar and onto his dick just seconds ago.

Tig smirked. "Interested party."

"I'm afraid that doesn't narrow it down much, sweetheart."

He chuckled and looked down at the whiskey in his glass. "Nah, guess not. So have ya?"

"Well, pussy aint really my scene, so I guess that means I might've fucked a few sons in my day."

"Smart ass with a tight ass." Tig grinned. "C'mon, you know what I mean." He urged with a nod.

"You take me for a pass around, Sergeant?" She mused with squinted eyes, challenging him with a tilt of her head.

His face fell once he realized what his curiosity might've implied. "Nah sweetheart..." He creased his brow and shook his head, looking genuinely concerned. "I hope not." He couldn't help adding the last bit, making her raise a brow and give a knowing smirk in response.

Over the next two weeks, Sydney had successfully learned how to navigate her new stomping grounds, warming up to everyone - _especially _Tig. She looked like the typical prissy little gash - girly and done up, but she was anything but, and they were quickly learning it as they came to love her sexy demeanour coupled with her ability to put them in their place.

**It was Sunday evening, only a couple days having gone by since Sydney had started at TM and she was working in the relatively empty bar except for Bobby, Chibs and Juice who were talking about how they too would soon be heading home for the evening. **

**Tig walked in at the perfect time, as Sydney could practically feel herself falling asleep with the low energy in the room. "Tiggy!" She squealed, running and jumping into his arms after having spent some time with him over the weekend - cashing in on the tour that he owed her. **

**Tig was a little taken aback by the outburst but the absolute last thing he was doing was complaining. "Hey Princess." He grinned. **

**She pulled back to look into his eyes, a giddy grin plastered on her face. "Please tell me you're gonna hangout with me, I'm so fucking bored." She tossed a glance to the worn out club members who were hunched over the bar. **

"**Hell yeah. I'll keep you entertained, dollface." He winked, staring at her as he enjoyed the placement of his hands that may as well have been cupping her ass over her black leggings as he held her up, the thin material leaving room for their imaginations to wander. Neither of them made any effort to move from their current position, in fact, Sydney squeezed her legs a little tighter around him to help reinforce the idea that she wasn't in any hurry to be put down.**

**The two finally untangled themselves from the embrace when Jax waltzed into the room with a blonde girl on his arm as he bid her goodbye, blushing as the guys began harassing him the second that she was out the door. **

"**She's been here a few times now Jackie. New favorite?" Chibs teased while Sydney made her way back around the bar.**

"**Nah I don't know, we aren't serious... Just.. Y'know." He replied bashfully. **

"**Lucky son of a bitch, bet she rides ya like a cowboy." Jax glared at Tig who was lazily leaning against the bartop, silently scolding the Sergeant's brash comments and shifting his gaze to Sydney, indicating for him to tone it down in front of the lady. **

"**No need to be shy VP. How's she take it? I bet Tiggy's right. She looks like a real top to me" Sydney interjected with an evil look of excitement on her face. **

**Tig's matching evil smile emerged in reaction to the little blonde who was quickly becoming his sidekick, effectively hiding his continuous surprise that she was just as raunchy as he was. They'd each had a history of being shit disturbers, joining forces and revelling in the elevated reactions it had started earning them.**

**She walked around to stand by Tig on the opposite side of the bar with the group of men, nudging his arm which effectively signalled for it to wrap around her shoulders. "You know what… I bet you popped her cherry, and you know the great thing about virgins, you take em around the block and it keeps em coming back to make up for lost time." She mused, grinning big as the guy's faces creased and contorted over her reaction. **

"**Oh yeah man." Tig agreed. "She shaved? Or she do some fancy landing strip shit?" **

"**Nah that ones too shy, she's either full bush, or bareback." Sydney replied.**

"**Think she's a spitter?" **

"**Hmmm, she might swallow." Sydney said in response, continuing their theatrical conversation. "The shy ones surprise you sometimes, too nervous to say no. Bet she'd even let him backdoor her if he asked real nice." They pinballed back and forth, feeding off of each other.**

"**What is wrong with you two?" Juice spoke for everyone, referring not only to their tag team, but also the crazy way they were looking at each other: like lions about to pounce. He also noticed that Sydney's lips curled up the exact same way Tig's did when he questioned them.**

"**Doesn't this shit bother you?" Jax grimaced, dumbfounded by the vulgar words that came out of the young woman's mouth.**

"**Doesn't what bother me?" **

"**All these assholes see women as, is pussy."**

"**Because they are?" Tig's arm fell from her shoulders to her waist, his fingers grazing the exposed skin between the top of her leggings and the red Coca-Cola tank top she had knotted in the front. His grip tightened in approval, he couldn't believe the nasty, misogynistic comments were coming from someone like her.**

"**What?" Jax sneered in confusion.**

"**Does anyone force the sweetbutts to fuck you Jackson?" She purred slowly, as if she were speaking to a child, her hair bobbing around on the top of her head in a messy bun only emphasized her sass. "Exactly." She responded when he stood stoically without an answer to her question. "They wanna be pussy, they're gonna be seen as pussy. You think they don't know what they're signin up for? Think again sweetheart. And if they do decide they got a problem with it, that's all it is. **_**Their **_**problem." **

Sydney felt herself slipping under the spell of the undercover gentleman - Tig Trager. He was the dream guy that she didn't even know she had: lived the club life and shared her love for chaos. His eyes had taken up permanent residence on her since the day she arrived, as well as the smitten, puppy-dog look on his face. They were constantly flirting and finding any excuse to be near each other, making contact wherever possible. The guys were all confused by the interest Tig took in her - not that they blamed him. However they were even more confused - and maybe a little jealous - at the interest that _she_ took in _him_.

**Sydney had only set foot in the clubhouse a week ago but she had quickly won over the affection of the queen and scored herself an invite to one of her infamous dinners. **

"**So, you get to come to one of our little shindigs." Tig tipped Sydney a nod across the bar. **

"**The queen herself has graced me with an invitation." She joked in a British accent, both of them cracking up. "Play your cards right Tiggy and I'll even let you ride with me." She teased. **

**He scoffed. "That right? Tell ya what Princess, how about we skip the part where I gotta ride in a cage, and you just save me a seat, huh?" **

"**Sounds good to me, I'll make sure my man gets the second best seat in the house, right between Clay and Jax." She winked. **

"**Oh so now I'm your man!" Tig feigned offence.**

"**You were always my man." She smirked. **

"**So what's the best seat in the house?" His furrowed his brows when he realized she hadn't clarified, but he received all the clarity he needed when she just gave him a sly smirk and cocked a brow, making him chortle and try to contain his grin as he walked off. **

**She stared at him longingly, mentally checking out as he got further and further away. "Syd? You listening?" **

**She snapped out of her trance. "Huh?" She shook her head and refocused her eyes, seeing Half-Sack waving a hand in front of her face. **

"**Wow." He drawled. "You got it bad." He had an annoying smirk on his face but she couldn't bring herself to care. She knew she could trust the shy prospect.**

"**Mhmm." She purred and nodded, licking her lips, surprising him with her easy admittance.**

**Tig found himself a little in awe, feeling as if this had to be too good to be true. He had seen Gemma burn through the women that his brothers brought around; none of them meeting the queen's standards, but Gemma had quickly taken to Sydney. Alexander Trager was the kind of man who marched to the beat of his own drum - clearly, but Clay and Gemma were the only family he had apart from his brothers, their approval meant something to him. So how was it that Sydney had earned their approval as a worthy old lady, without even seeking it? He found himself believing that there must be a God with very twisted morals to have sent down the light haired angel that inhabited his conscience.**

**Tig ended up at Sydney's house after work while she got ready for dinner so that she could follow him there after he insisted that Clay and Gemma's house was 'hard to find'. "So what does one wear to dinner with the queen." She mused as she leant over the island in her kitchen, staring up at him as he unscrewed the bottle cap on his beer. **

"**I could think of lots'a things I'd like to see you in baby." **

"**I'm serious" She whined. **

**He chuckled before making a beeline up the stairs to her bedroom, confusing her and she furrowed her brows and followed him up. Once she reached her bedroom she understood what he was doing and couldn't help but be slightly impressed by his initiative when he stopped at the door to her walk-in closet. She laid down across her bed on her stomach, kicking her heels back and forth while he rifled through the countless items of clothing she had. **

"**Nah." She snapped dramatically when she saw his attention move to the rack that held her dresses, as if she was trying to verbally slap his wrist. He turned around with a raised brow. "Too try hard." She explained but was evident by the look on his face that he didn't understand, moving on to the next rack anyway. **

"**Try these on for me." He dropped three separate outfits on the bed in front of her, the subtle authority in his voice had excitement bubbling behind her belly button and dipping down to her core. She pressed her thighs together while she gave him a discerning smirk and raised a brow. He just grinned and looked at her expectantly, her smirk spreading into an even dirtier one as she scooped up the clothes and padded towards the bathroom. **

**Sydney was even more impressed with the rough and tough biker once she saw that his outfit choices weren't actually horrible, but she couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head when she realized all the shirts were **_**very**_ **low cut, supposing it was his recompense for her 'no dress' rule.**

**The first outfit she tried on was a muted green bodysuit with spaghetti straps, she hadn't even tried it on since she'd bought it and once she saw how flattering it was, she loved it. She slipped on the black jeans with slits in the knees that he'd chosen to accompany the bodysuit and now that the outfit was on, she was **_**very **_**impressed, this was undoubtedly an outfit she would have chosen herself. Was it dinner appropriate? Definitely not. It exposed a majority of her skin above the waist, dipped down **_**low, **_**and was not to be worn with a bra. Open back and wildly visible nipples may have been Sydney's idea of dinner appropriate, but probably not Gemma's. **

**Tig's eyes widened immediately as she swung the bathroom door open, adorned in the clothing he had chosen. "That one." He stated abruptly.**

"**You would've said that about whatever one I tried on first." She giggled, rolling her eyes. **

**His breath caught in his throat as he eyed what he could've sworn were nipple rings poking through the thin fabric of the shirt, leotard, bathing suit thing he'd picked out. **

"**You really want the fashion show to be over so soon?" She asked innocently with her head tilted to the side as she turned to 'look in the mirror' that was positioned next to the closet door, which just so happened to give him a perfect view of her ass as she turned her body back and forth slowly, giving him a proper show. **

**His eyes grew heavy with lust as she stood there, posing for him. The leggy blonde was the biggest temptation he had ever experienced. "Not that one." He spoke in the same abrupt tone and gave a curt nod. **

**Sydney snickered and set back off to the bathroom. She already knew which one she was going to wear, but she wasn't going to let his efforts go unrewarded, so she made sure it would be the last she tried on. **

**The next outfit was a multicoloured striped tank top with a medium wash denim skirt. "Okay." She said suspiciously as she dramatically swung the door open, crossing her arms and making him stiffen in worry. "Either you have an old lady you aren't telling me about, or you're a crossdresser. Which one is it?" His expression softened before he grinned and looked down, shaking his head.**

"**Just got good taste, doll." He shrugged. Sydney pursed her lips and raised a brow, her doubtful gaze lingering on him before she made her way over to the mirror. **

"**You know..." Tig got up off of the bed, walking towards her and propping an arm against the doorframe of the closet. "We could just skip dinner, do somethin more fun." **

"**Like what Tiggy?" She asked innocently with curious eyes, slowly moving towards him. He pushed off the doorframe, allowing her to press her back against it, resuming his position with his arm now above her head, leaning closer and closer. **

"**Could think of a thing or two." He said in a low tone, almost a whisper. Her head tilted up and to the side, her back arching off the cool wood while his hooded eyes remained fixed on her lips.**

"**We're gonna be late." She rasped, slowly slipping away and heading back to change into the last outfit, leaving Tig stunned. **_**Oh do I love this fucking game, **_**she thought as she heard no movement from him, frozen in place while she walked away.**

**The last outfit was a ruched white cropped top with a sweetheart neckline and bell sleeves that hung around her biceps, paired with distressed, dark washed jeans in a capri style that happened to shape her body perfectly. The shirt sat just above the top of the jeans, exposing a sliver of tanned skin and her diamond belly ring. With the way her hair was styled in curls, one side pinned out of her face, it was perfect - sweet and casual with just enough sex appeal. **

"**I'm wearing this one." She announced with a grin as she bounded out towards her closet to grab her nude, lace-up mules.**

**Tig was shocked she actually seemed to approve of his choices when he'd gone in blind - just picking what he wanted to see her in without choosing straight up lingerie. The thought of her walking out of the bathroom in something black and lacey had his blood pumping all over again... **

**The two headed downstairs to get off to Gemma's, Tig held his ground on taking his bike however, Sydney following close behind in her car. She pulled into the driveway behind Gemma's Cadillac XLR, getting out and strolling towards Tig had parked among the other Harleys, unbuckling his helmet. **

"**Was pretty easy to find if you ask me." **

"**Some of the crows've had troubles before. Just tryna lend a helping hand, Princess."**

"**Mm." She hummed, clearly unconvinced. "You do seem like quite the giver." She purred as she stroked his jaw, giving him a dirty smirk before heading towards the door. Tig walked in the door behind her, smiling bashfully when he caught the knowing stare Gemma was giving him across the room as they walked in together. **

**Unsurprisingly, Gemma put Sydney straight to work, ushering her into the kitchen with the other women, surprised that the much younger woman seemed to know her way around the kitchen. **

"**You cook?"**

"**Sure do. My dad was never one for making a meal, so I learned how to cook before I learned how to ride without training wheels. Poor DINO boys are probably starving without me." Gemma nodded with a smile.**

**As dinner cooked, Sydney instinctively began playing co-hostess, a position that the matriarch was happy to share. She watched attentively as Sydney made sure the guys had fresh beers, smirking to herself when she noticed her paying a little too much attention to Tig.**

"**You tryna get me drunk, Pussycat?" Tig teased suggestively as Sydney had another drink ready for him the second that he finished**

"**Well how else am I supposed to get you to come home with me?" Tig threw his head back and laughed.**

**Gemma and an older woman in the kitchen watched the encounter out the window of the kitchen. "That why he ain't been at Cara Cara lately?" The porn queen asked as she nodded towards Sydney and Tig. Gemma just smirked in response. "Wow, never thought I'd see him with an old lady." The blonde woman scoffed in disbelief.**

"**Yeah well she ain't his old lady yet, gotta man up and ask her." **

"**She into him?" She asked skeptically. "She's young, beautiful..." Gemma knew she was getting at, thinking that Sydney could do better, and much better than **_**Tig**_ **at that.**

"**Why don't you ask her yourself?" She smirked as she saw Sydney walking back towards them. **

**Sydney was introduced to the other woman in the kitchen, Luann Delaney - Big Otto's old lady. She'd heard about the porn queen from Gemma: that Luann was the one who ran Cara Cara as well as the in-house salon that she would be attending. **

"**So, you his old lady?" Luann asked Sydney bluntly after gushing over her and how much money she could make in front of a camera.**

**Sydney smirked, pleased that her connection with Tig was so easy to pick up on. "Not yet." **

**Once dinner was ready, Gemma was directing everyone into their seats whilst Sydney was put on drink duty. She returned to the table with the beers, placing them in front of their respective owners as she realized the only empty seat was next to Tig. In all honesty, her and Tig would've raced to sit together anyways, but the smirk on Gemma's face told her that this was her doing, not his. She blushed a little and rolled her eyes before taking her seat. **

**Dinner was great, everyone talked and laughed - it felt like family, like home. Sydney and Tig took turns brushing their legs or feet against each other throughout dinner. After the main course was complete, everyone was sipping their drinks before dessert was to be served and had broken off into their own side conversations. Juice was beside Sydney, showing her his favorite memes when she felt a shiver run through her body and a weight on her knee. She glanced down, only moving her eyes while Juice was preoccupied by his beer, to see Tig's ring adorned hand on her knee, his head turned while he spoke to Bobby about some football game his team lost and how it must be rigged. **

**Sydney didn't dare look at him, just smiled as privately as possible while he did the same, but Gemma didn't miss the smirks on their faces, or the way his hand remained on her.**

Sydney noticed Tig had even started spending most of his free time with her, rather than partying at the clubhouse or bagging crows. He'd taken her for rides on his bike, for meals, coffee on lunch break or after work at the office, hell he'd even stopped at the coffee shop on repo runs to bring her back her favourite latte. They were both night owls, sharing companionship in the unconventional hours.

**Sydney was in the office when Tig came to grab some keys - yawning and stretched dramatically before flopping down on the couch. "Tired?" She teased him about his attention begging display. **

**He groaned and held up a hand, feigning offense. "Don't be mean baby. I was up until 4." **

**She felt the little twitch in her nerves when he called her baby. "How come? Fun night?" She asked suggestively. **

**He chuckled. "Oh I wish Angel, but you were busy." He winked with a grin. "Nah, slept in too late yesterday, couldn't sleep last night."**

"**Gonna nap after work and do it all over again?" **

"**You know it." He nodded, the both of them laughing. **

"**You shoulda called me! I'm always awake." **

"**You were awake until 4:00 A.M. when you had to work today?" He deadpanned, obviously not believing her. **

"**5:30 actually, I slept until 1 yesterday and then napped when I got home after work." She explained her reasoning, recounting the late hour that she'd awaken before her shift at the bar.**

"**How come?"**

"**Always been that way. I love being up at night."**

**Tig turned his attention away from the war movie he was watching to answer the phone ringing on his nightstand, scowling when he wondered who would be calling his personal phone at such a late hour. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Sydney calling, chuckling when the little crown showed up beside her name from when she programmed her number into his phone. **

**His stomach sank suddenly, realizing she could be calling because something was wrong. She had never called him before, then again he had only met her a few days ago, and given her his number in even less time than that.**

"**Doll?"**

"**Oh good! You're up." **

**He swore he could hear her smile through the phone, grinning just as audibly. "Who says you didn't wake me." **

"**I care about the result Tigger, not the process. Besides, you napped after work today so I knew you'd be up because I did the same thing." He chortled at their similarities. His brothers always called him old and lazy for napping during the day, they just didn't understand his sleeping patterns. **

"**So is there anywhere around this godforsaken town that a girl could get some ice cream at such a fine hour?" She asked playfully.**

"**Sweetheart, it's almost 1am." **

"**And?" She retorted. He laughed, realizing he should've known his protest would mean nothing. **

"**What're you in the mood for? McDonalds is 24 hours, grocery store across town is too." **

"**Mmmm I'll go to the store. Thanks Tiggy." **

"**You think I'm lettin ya go alone? Nah, I want ice cream now." **

**She giggled. "M'I comin to you or you comin to me?"**

"**Baby, you're gonna be comin for me the rest of your life." He said huskily, she knew he was joking but **_**god **_**did it turn her on.**

"**Don't tempt me with a good time Sergeant." She purred seductively, hearing his breath catch in his throat. **

"**Be ready for me in ten."**

"**Always ready for you." She couldn't fight her grin as she spoke, which only intensified as she heard a slight groan before he hung up the phone. **

**Less than 10 minutes later, Sydney's nerves picked up at the sound of Tig's Harley pulling in front of her house. She ran out, dressed in a dark pink oversized hoodie that ended up covering her tiny black shorts to look like a dress, and white converse. **

**She found herself feeling bashful when his eyes roamed over her, which was rather out of character. Something about the way he was looking at her with a bare face and her hair in a messy bun made her feel shy, he wasn't ogling at her when she was done up as usual, he was admiring her in her natural state, and he still thought she was blazing hot. **

**The pair strolled into the store minutes later without a care for the ungodly hour, passing a beer display of a cooler full of tiny ice cubes. She grabbed a handful, Tig looked at her and scowled to which she just shrugged and popped one into her mouth, biting down and crushing the ice between her teeth. He rolled his eyes and smiled, grabbing his own handful and walking off. Her lips curled up into an evil smile, little did she know, her plan was the same reason he picked up his own handful of ice. **

**Once he stopped in front of the tall freezer with the ice cream, she quickly reached up, pulling the back of his shirt out and dropping her fistful of ice down his back. She was confused though when he seemed to move at the exact time, to do the exact same thing to her. **

**She squealed as the cold ice made contact with her skin, melting instantly and trickling down her back. He didn't even register the cold sensation at first, he just scowled, knowing that she wouldn't have had time to do the same thing to him without having planned it. The melting ice made it's way to a spot that made him twitch, pulling at his shirt to try to get it out while she did the same, howling at the cold trails down her back, the two of them laughing uncontrollably at each other. **

**Sydney's loose garment made it easier to get all of her ice out, but Tig was struggling with his tighter shirt under his heavy kutte. "Let me help you." She laughed, barely getting the words out.**

**He put his hand up in the air to stop her from coming any closer as he jumped back. "No fuckin way." **

"**I don't have anymore!" She held out her palms for proof. He nodded his chin towards the pocket on her sweater which she dramatically shook out, showing him she was empty handed. He shivered and then nodded. **

**She chuckled, taking a step towards him and sliding on the puddle of water on the ground, squealing before he caught her, both of them in hysterics again all over again. She caught her balance and helped him with his shirt, feeling fire under her fingertips when she touched his skin. **

"**Done fuckin around?"**

"**Never done fucking around with you Sergeant." She cooed.**

"**That's my girl." He said huskily with an approving nod before grabbing a pint of Rocky Road. She felt her senses tingle at his words, then gave a small smile at his flavour choice, feeling as if it was very 'Tig like'. **

"**Which one you want?"**

"**Hmmm… Half Baked or Cookie Dough?" **

"**The fuck's Half Baked?" He contorted his face.**

"**Chocolate and vanilla ice cream with cookie dough and brownie." **

"**You're sayin you would get somethin **_**other**_ **than that?" He asked in disbelief.**

"**Too much chocolate sometimes." She explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He gave her a typical confused man look that made her chuckle bashfully. "Cookie dough." **

**She winced when he grabbed the pint of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough, clutching his arm and guiding it back into the freezer and pressing an imaginary button on his wrist as if she was using a remote control. He immediately bought into her game, releasing the ice cream and twisting his hand like it was robotic, letting her guide it toward the pint of Haagen Dazs Cookie Dough Dynamo instead. She looked up at him expectantly when he wouldn't grab it, he nodded towards her thumb hovering over the imaginary button. She giggled and pressed it, he felt the immediate reaction of a smile on his face as he heard her giggle, he couldn't help himself if he tried. **

"**What was wrong with the other one?" He asked on the way to the checkout counter, brows furrowed in deep confusion.**

"**The chocolate chips are bigger in this one." He gave her a playful, discerning look which made her blush realizing how delusional her reasoning must've sounded to someone like Tig. **

**Tig had reluctantly let Sydney pay for the ice cream, upon her insistence that it was his compensation for bringing her to the store. They pulled into her driveway and she had gotten off, realizing that Tig hadn't killed the engine. **

**She looked at him curiously. "You coming in?" **

"**You ain't workin in the mornin?" He asked, a little surprised since it was so late.**

"**Oh I am, but I'll be up for a while. You can keep me company." She said nonchalantly. "Unless... You got somethin better to do?" The sarcasm in her voice wasn't lost, he smiled and nodded, cutting the engine and following her inside where she sat down on the couch and put on her favorite Marvel movie. **

Dinner and movies at Sydney's house had become almost routine, so routine that she found herself feeling lost when he wasn't around - something she had never experienced before, especially with Happy coming and going so sporadically.

Tig had started to discover the more human parts of her - her quirks, likes, and dislikes. The parts behind the sweet talking and cryptic words, the parts that only people she really cared about got to see, the things that only someone who paid _very_ close attention to someone would notice - like the fact that she was always spinning around or fiddling with her necklace, how she would be doing cartwheels or chewing bubblegum or sucking on a lollipop. She would only eat ice cream after it was melted and drinkable and would need to contort herself into some weird position or lay upside down on the couch while they watched movies together. He'd learned of her undying love for Marvel movies, realizing what a nerd she actually was - of course he had said that DC was better just to get under her skin. She loved everything about nature: sunsets, thunderstorms, beaches, which he picked up by the artwork in her house, as well as the way she would look at the pink clouds as the sun set when he would take her around on his bike. She had a soft spot for a good meal, and anything sweet, but was a surprisingly picky eater which he had learned the hard way.

**Sydney smacked the side of the large knife she was holding, against Tig's hands, stopping them as they were gripping the mustard bottle as he made his way to her burger.**

"**Na-ah, if you ever want me to feed you again, you will put that nasty shit down and get it away from my food." She slowly lifted the knife, releasing his hands.**

**He backed away with his hands up and eyes wide dramatically. "Hefty price to pay darlin. I don't think I could live without your cooking now." **

**She forced herself to keep her smile at bay. She had cooked for Tig a few times now and at first she thought he was just being polite, as well as the fact that he was an eternal bachelor who relied on restaurants around town and the matriarch to keep him fed, but now that he'd started having regular meals at her house, she knew there was more to it.**

**She adjusted the knife in her grip so that she was holding it like a gun. "Now lower the weapon outlaw, and nobody gets hurt." She said in a sheriff's voice, both of them laughing and lowering their respective 'weapons' and getting back to work. Tig grabbed the jar of pickles after putting some on his burger, but before he knew it, it was being ripped out of his hands and put it back into the fridge, both of them snickering at her actions. **

"**Why do you even have this shit if you hate it." **

"**You're eating it aren't you?" Sydney scoffed, making him chuckle. "You know Tiggy..." She leaned over the kitchen island. "It would be a lot easier for the both of us if you would just sit down with your beer while I do the cooking, like a good old man." She mused.**

"**Careful doll. One day when you're my old lady, you're gonna regret ever suggestin that." **

**She hid her giddy smile at the thought of being his old lady, with a smirk. "I think I could live with just about anything if it meant I would be " She said in a southern accent, chuckling as she grabbed the plates.**

**She joined Tig at the table, watching him eat, he looked so content and happy, she couldn't help herself from wondering how so many women could've passed on him. Sure, she could understand why the crows didn't bother trying for anything real with Tig, crows were there for one of two things; to be used or to hopefully one day be an old lady. The crows knew who Tig was, what he did and what he stood for - knowing that 'old lady' status was not in the cards for him. But everyday women? She couldn't wrap her head around it. **

"**You don't get alotta home cooked meals often, do you?" She blurted as she watched him scarf down his food.**

**He smiled. "That obvious huh?"**

"**I'm sure you could have lots of girls cooking for you if you just asked." She sipped her drink. Tig forced a smile, the amount of faith she had in him gave his heart a sad twinge. He didn't understand what it was she saw in him, it was clearly something that no one else did, nor did he. **

"**It's a good thing you have me now, I would hate to see what you fending for yourself would look like." **

**He chuckled. "Whole lotta beer and frozen pizza. Lived with a buddy one time, a brother actually, in Tacoma now… Stupid fucker." He grumbled, Sydney giggled at the obvious vendetta he had against the other man. "Don't think I ate anything that wasn't from a box or a restaurant that whole time." He chuckled again. **

"**Sounds like a dream." She joked with a smile. **

**Tig immediately wondered if he was overstaying his welcome as he processed the depth of her previous statements, wondering if maybe he was pushing things a little too far considering they were technically nothing more than friends. "Hey darlin, I can go back to beer and frozen pizza if I'm too much for you to handle." He gave a wolfish grin, choosing a joking statement to keep the mood light.**

**She shook her head a little too quickly once he hinted that she didn't have to take care of him, an action that didn't go unnoticed by him, momentarily dropping her light hearted, cryptic flirting. "I like having you to care for." She said in a small voice, looking down at her plate. **

**He smiled warmly, another thing that didn't go unnoticed by him was the fact that she said she liked having 'him' to care for, and not 'someone' to care for. He stretched his feet out under the table, brushing against hers, which she instinctively rubbed lightly against his.**

**Sydney was glad to see that he finished eating at that moment, giving her an escape route as she stood up to grab his plate. "Besides." She started, smirking as she spoke. "I didn't learn how to use a grill for it to go unappreciated by a man." She winked. **

**He snickered, seeing the usual her re-emerge. "I'll appreciate you any day baby." He growled, reigniting their usual playful banter. **

**Sydney took the empty plates to the kitchen and began rinsing them when he came up behind her, smoothly slipping a clean plate from her hand to begin drying it. "Tiggy you don't have to-" His look cut her off. **

"**You don't gotta do everything, Princess. You deserve to be taken care of too." His voice was soft and full of sincerity, but she'd had more vulnerability than she could take for one night. **

**She snorted. "A man wouldn't know how to take care of me if he tried. Trust me, I've been down that road - ripped the e-brake and turned right back around." She half-lied, knowing full well that Tig could take care of her. **

**Sydney never felt the need for a boyfriend, she could handle herself and she'd lived in a cesspool of male attention her entire life, creating the illusion that there was nothing she was missing out on, but there was just something about Tig that made her **_**want**_ **to be taken care of. Even Happy didn't get to see her quite like that, she would listen to Happy and allow him to see her in a truer form of herself, the same way she did with her dad, but only when it suited her best. **

**She noticed mulling over her words in his head as he stood silently, drying the plates. "I'm good at taking care of people, like Gemma is." He met her eyes when she began speaking again. "Women like us aren't good at being told what our every move will be." **

**He looked at her so attentively, it took her aback a little - having someone pay so much attention to the words that came out of her mouth. Male attention had been part of her daily routine since she was a preteen, but the attention Tig gave her was all new to her, because it was attention to **_**her, **_**from someone who wasn't family**_**, **_**not attention to her flirty facade. **

"**Gemma makes it work, bein an old lady." She flinched a little, wondering if he meant what she thought he meant. **

**He saw her flinch, knowing all too well how she was feeling, confused and uncomfortable that she wasn't hating the vulnerability the way she felt like she should. He couldn't help one last thing while he had her like this. "You don't talk to people like you talk to me." He stated plainly, leaning on the island with his hand propping up his chin. He originally intended to phrase it like a question but being bold, he decided against it. He was overly sure that the idea was already in her mind that she was feeling something for him, but he didn't see the harm in planting the seed - just in case. **

"**No." Sydney confirmed with a soft smile.**

"**Why not?" **

"**Not many people understand me... The same way they don't understand you." **

Tig liked that Sydney knew what she was talking about when she spoke - unlike the crows, he also liked the sound of her voice - also unlike the crows. She could carry on a conversation for hours and he would never get tired of listening. Women usually looked at Tig with one of two things; lust, or fear - but she looked at him like he was even more than human. He found himself constantly in a trance, like he was trying to figure out if he was dreaming or not. She'd given him a taste of a domestic life - showing him that it was attainable to a degree even in the life they lived. Making him realize that settling down didn't have to be boring and unfulfilling if it was with the right person.

Sydney had learned a lot about him too - not all directly in conversation, as his walls were thicker than hers, but enough that she could piece together the rest. He was an ex-marine, he sometimes struggled with his club duties and hated a lot of things about himself. Tig was no merciful saint, he enjoyed the violence - but from time to time his demons would catch up with him, his conscience would eat him alive and often plague him with nightmares. He was the most dynamic person Sydney had ever met, there was finally someone that challenged her dominance, was not only turned on by her boldness, but fed off of it - instead of being intimidated by it. Tig was rough, dangerous, insane - but he was also sweet, compassionate and sincere, much like herself, a living, breathing paradox, able to get under each other's skin like no one ever had before.

The pull was like nothing Sydney had ever experienced before. Every word that came out of Tig's mouth was music to her ears: smooth, as if he was drawing her in closer. Her demons danced perfectly with his, their jagged edges fit flush together. She had been warned about his tendencies: the good, the bad and the ugly. 9/10 of them included him being a sleazy scumbag with wild kinks, which only amused her because they had no idea about hers. Regardless of the warnings, since Sydney arrived she had seen him ignore his favourite crows and turn all his attention to her.

**"Have you seen Tig?" A croweater asked Sydney while she was working at the bar, it had been exactly two weeks since she had first set foot in the clubhouse that Thursday. She'd befriended - to some extent - a decent amount of the crows, most of them weren't that bad - given they were either terrified or admired Sydney so they kissed her ass - but Cheryl was dumber and more stuck up than the rest. Sydney had noticed a few dirty looks from her since she had started taking up the Sergeant's time, but it only entertained her. Cheryl was older, so not only did she have to work twice as hard to compete with the hotter, younger pussy, she was also set in her ways - a fatal flaw in Sydney's eyes: comfortability clouds judgment. **

**Sydney blew and popped a bubble with her gum, looking at her unamused. "Club shit. Be back later." She deadpanned, Cheryl just looked her up and down and huffed away. Sydney had noticed a few dirty looks from her since she had started taking up the Sergeant's time, but it only entertained her.**

**About an hour later, almost like routine, Tig greeted Sydney first as he arrived back at the clubhouse. "If it isn't my favorite girl in the whole wide world." He said playfully, snaking an arm around her waist and planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek. She started to smile, but refused to melt in his arms as she usually did. **

**She spun around dramatically as he slid past her to grab a beer, shooting him a look, brow raised, which made him laugh nervously. "What?"**

**"Cheryl's lookin for ya again." She taunted him.**

**"Who?" He scrunched up his face. "Oh... **_**Her**_**." He sounded irritated when he realized it was the same crow who had asked Sydney for his whereabouts multiple times before. He rolled his eyes and began walking back out from behind the bar when Sydney's leg shot up and blocked him, feeling his dick twitch as his denim covered crotch collided with her bare leg. **

**"Not so fast Sergeant." She leaned back and examined her manicure, blowing another bubble, he chuckled at her dramatic display. "Seems your little whores think I'm your captor."**

**"Oh you are baby." He growled low and ate her up with his eyes. Her lips curled into a devilish smile. **

**"Better get back to her, next crow that asks me where you are, is getting a key to your dorm." She teased but he just stood stoically. **

**"Tell em they can take a damn hike."**

**"Since when did you start turning down pussy? I hear you were their most popular customer." She mused. **

"**Think they all got scared off when they started smellin coconut and flowers on me." She couldn't help but smirk at Tig describing her scent.**

"**Cheryl didn't seem scared." She countered.**

**Tig stood still for a moment, contemplating his options before he quickly grasped her calf and lifted it up so that he could make his escape. She could see the surprise in his face at how effortlessly her leg bent into the flexible position, the shock interfering with his sneak attack. He looked directly at her crotch, barely covered by the light wash denim shorts as her legs were spread in front of him. His eyes widened, unable to find the strength to avert them. She smiled deviously and bit her lip, curling her leg downwards to rest on his shoulder. His hand snaked around her calf to rest on her shin before he finally looked back up to her. "Interested in better things these days doll." He gulped, patting her leg before lowering it, trailing his fingers across her skin before walking away. **

**Her cheeks immediately felt the heat as she let go of the breath she had unintentionally been holding, before goosebumps covered her entire body.**

Besides eye-fucking her 24/7, Tig had been a perfect gentleman - opening doors for her, making sure she got home safe, not being too forceful with his advances, which didn't go anywhere near unnoticed among Gemma, the guys, and even Clay; constantly receiving scowls from them when he treated Sydney like a lady or showed affection since no one had ever seen him actually spend time with a girl before. Hell, even seeing him treat someone like a human being was rare. He was a typical Son, anything with a pussy was just that - pussy. The only woman they had ever seen Tig respect was Gemma... And nobody disrespected Gemma.

"**Hey man I'm uh, gonna take a smoke break." Tig said distantly while he patted the hood of the ford he and Happy were working on as he watched Sydney packing up the office for the night. The Tacoma Killer just grunted in annoyance at the Sergeant dumping the work onto him and poorly hiding his true intentions. **

**Sydney walked to her car with a huge smile on her face as Tig's hand rested on her lower back while they laughed about the bitchy suburban woman who expected a free brake job earlier in the day. Once they reached her car, he opened the door for her before she chucked her purse onto the passenger seat. "Are you coming for dinner when you're done?" She asked softly as it had kind of become an unspoken routine, clutching onto the open door with that innocent twinkle in her eye. **

**Tig squinted in the sun as rubbed the back of his neck as a pained look creeped its way across his face. "Nah, got club business after we finish up here, gonna be a late one." **

**Sydney frowned. "I can wait for you, unless some of that 'in a box' food is calling your name." She teased. **

**He grinned. "Awe doll, you'd do that for old Tigger?" **

"**Old Tigger is the old one I'd do it for." She teased with a smile and a roll of her eyes.**

**He smirked and pulled her into a long hug, she closed her eyes and sighed in contentment. "You're too good to me pussycat." He kissed her on the cheek before pulling away to let her get in the car. "I'll call ya when I'm on my way." She smiled and nodded as he closed the door for her, before making his way back to the garage to a glaring Happy.**

**Tig figured it was best to just avoid the piercing black eyes, having seen the warning some of his younger brothers had gotten for trying to ask questions about Sydney. "She don't let anyone do that shit." Happy rasped out. "Except me." He added with a smirk. He wasn't thrilled about Sydney's choice of company, but he knew it had to be something special for her to allow him in.**

"**Huh?" Tig questioned cautiously, hoping the quiet man would elaborate if he played dumb. **

"**Touch her like that." **

"**Never?" He found that **_**very **_**hard to believe. A girl like Sydney? Touchy and flirty, never had a boyfriend? **

"**Not like that." Happy confirmed, turning back to his work.**

Sydney and Tig continued to dangle themselves in front of each other, neither of them wanting to give into the pressure just yet, too engrossed in their game of seeing who would crack first, forming this odd bond - some kind of unspoken understanding that they were together, without being _together_.

The struggle of fighting the lust they felt for one another was nothing short of mutual, but they loved making each other squirm. Tig found himself in awe of her time and time again, shocked that a woman could keep up perfectly with his unusual ways. He lived for the surge of adrenaline that would hit him when he would make a crude remark or blatantly check her out, just for her to laugh or retaliate with an equally inappropriate comment or action. He still couldn't believe that she was actually interested in him, he was a confident man, but his confidence level didn't quite reach the depths of seeing himself in a committed relationship with the much younger, smoking hot woman of his dreams. There were no questions between the two as to their intentions with each other, they both knew clear as day by the way they acted around each other, how they felt. Neither of them were great with words however, and they loved the chase, it was just a matter of time before one of them would give in.

Of course nobody believed Sydney when she said nothing had happened between the two of them - especially knowing Tig. Their confusion only made her enjoy it that much more, she loved proving people wrong, being the opposite of what they expect. However, the feelings were building fast and the sexual tension was building faster, both were soon to boil over, but for now this crazy rollercoaster of a chase that always left her wondering what could happen next was just too damn fun.

Tig on the other hand was terrified. He had never gone this long with a girl without sleeping with her, he'd barely even gone this long with a girl if he _had_ slept with her. But there was something so different about Sydney, something that made him - for the first time - scared to make a move. She was warm and inviting, but cold and deviant at the same time. Drawing him in and then pushing him away, left needing more. His actions over the past few weeks had shocked his brothers, he knew they had shocked Sydney, but most of all they had shocked himself. He wasn't a man who thought about his words or actions but she made him hyper aware of his every move. He had never settled down because it seemed all women were the same, he didn't know that it would be possible for a woman to be twisted and bent in all the same places as he was. He didn't just need someone that could hold him down and turn his attention away from the demons that his club duties sometimes caused, he needed someone who could also take on a few demons of their own, someone who could clean his bloody wounds after a fight just as easily as they could come home covered in blood with him, and he may have found just that...

* * *

**_Songs for this chapter_**

**_Head Over Heels - Vogue In The Movement_**

**_New Girl - Finneas_**

**_Buttons - The Pussycat Dolls (ft Snoop Dogg)_**

**_Gangsta - Kehlani_**

**_Smooth - Santana (ft. Rob Thomas)_**


	4. Blue Wedding

_**This chapter takes place immediately after the two week jump from the last chapter! No messy time jumps or formatting this time, as promised 😅**_

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, mentions of drug use/overdose, abuse/violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 4: BLUE WEDDING**

It was Saturday, and a SAMCRO wedding was in the midst. Bobby and his old lady Precious had been together for quite some time now and they even had kids, making Sydney wonder what had made them actually want to get married, seeing as they fought constantly. Precious had asked Sydney to be a bridesmaid after only meeting her in passing a couple of times, to which she haphazardly agreed, knowing that a huge party would be following the wedding. Anyone else would've found everything about this wedding completely bizarre but Sydney knew the life and this was just another day in it.

All of the bridesmaids were getting ready at Gemma's house, including the maid of honour which happened to be Sydney's favorite crow: Jessica, both of them smiling as they watched Gemma play 'mother of the bride' even though her and Precious were the same age, the bride looking about ten years older than she was thanks to the crazy blonde eighties hair, frail frame and a past filled with drug use.

Sydney finished off her makeup and slipped into her bridesmaid's dress which was a dark purple colour that made her green eyes pop like nobody's business. It was much more tasteful than she had expected with a sweetheart neckline, bejewelled waistband, and floor length.

Clay entered the room and wolf whistled at all the girls, making Gemma roll her eyes and Sydney snicker. "Alright, everyone ready?" He asked, getting a chorus of affirmations from the women. Seeing that this was an MC wedding, there would be no limo or tuxedos, the bridal party was driven in Gemma's Escalade and the groomsmen would roll in on their Harley's.

Sydney began her descent down the hallway after the rest of the bridal party when a strong hand held her back by her elbow. She looked up at Clay expectantly with a crease in her forehead, wondering what had the President isolating her before the wedding.

"You're walkin down with Tig."

Sydney smiled smugly, relieved that the cornering was about her romance and not about her future with SAMCRO. "Your doing, or his?"

"Let's just say I'm helpin him out with what he's for some reason decided he's too chicken shit to do himself."

"Being a chicken shit the usual for him?" She countered, already knowing the answer.

"Never." He grinned.

Sydney hid her giddy smile from the intimidating man as he loosened his grip and led her down the hallway, out the door, and to the fully packed van where the rest of the women were waiting.

After a twenty minute drive out to the remote Wahewa Reserve where Sydney learned SAMCRO weddings were held, the van came to a halt and Half-Sack slid the door open. Sydney did a double take when she saw Tig waiting for her in a crisp white button down under the worn leather of his kutte; sleeves rolled up, exposing the toned forearms that she loved so much. _Jesus fucking christ I am in so much trouble, _she thought to herself and she took him in, wondering how it was possible for him to look even sexier than usual. Her stomach did a triple flip and she immediately felt herself trembling once he looked up at her, holding his hand out to help her out of the van.

"You know Sergeant, if you wanted me to be your date all you had to do was ask. I'm in need of some arm candy, the ambush was hardly necessary." She teased studiously.

He chuckled and shook his head, his grin not fading. "Damn pussycat." He purred as he dropped her hand, surprised when she reinitiated contact, reaching up to fix his shirt collar over his kutte.

"You don't clean up too bad yourself." She flirted, he snorted and looked down bashfully.

Cleaning up nice was a massive understatement, Sydney always thought Tig looked like perfection. His roughness turned her on and drew her in, but seeing him in a white shirt, popping against his tanned skin, hair freshly cut, a healthy dose of cologne, and blue eyes sparkling was doing something on a whole new level as the temptation to sink her teeth into the vein on his neck tripled.

"Look more like your bodyguard."

"Haven't you heard Tiggy? Hired muscle's hot." She cocked her brows and smiled smugly. "That's why you wear this, right?" Her tone changed, going much lower and more serious as she brushed her fingers along the 'Sgt. At Arms' flash on his chest, able to feel him tensing under her fingers even through the layers he was wearing. She made to pull away but he caught her hand that had dropped from his collar.

"Nah really doll, you look..." He lifted his hand and twirled her around, giving him a full view. "Wow." He said in awe. She was the one looking down now as her cheeks flushed.

"Think the groomsmen'll like it?" She teased and swayed with her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Oh baby." He groaned. "If they don't appreciate it, you come back to me and I'll make you feel as good as you look." He said just as studiously as he raked over her with that animalistic stare.

She felt her heart leap as she heard the familiar growl in his voice. "Don't be making promises you can't keep now Sergeant." She taunted. He retorted with a deeply discerning look, giving her a chance to retract her call on his bluff, because that's exactly what it was - a bluff.

"You _really_ think you can handle me Tiggy?" She challenged in a low tone.

"Nah darlin, the real question is: can _you_." He took a step towards her. "Handle _me_." Another step, bringing him dangerously close. Before she had time to think of a response in her flustered state, their heads whipped around to the sound of Gemma herding the wedding party in preparation to walk down the aisle. The distraction gave her some time to actually look around the acreage that had been decorated with strings of lights, a white aisle, a white altar, and chairs. She thought it was actually kind of beautiful, especially for a biker wedding.

The close proximity as Sydney stood next to Tig, breathing in his scent at the beginning of the white train laid over the dirt was not doing her self control any favors. She felt herself trembling, her body betraying her as her throat locked up and her chest felt heavy, wondering what the fuck this hold was that he had over her. She did her best to contain herself and focus on her breathing, as she tried not to cry, explode, puke, and throw herself at him all at the same time.

"You alright pussycat?" Tig grabbed her hand to try and still the trembling that he could feel even though they weren't touching.

She attempted to answer confidently but all she could manage was a nod, her hand trembling in his just like her body had been doing. He squeezed it harder and narrowed his gaze. "I'm fine Tiggy." She assured him.

"Nervous?"

She chuckled humorlessly. "Something like that."

He knew she was being cryptic, but much to her gratitude, he let it go - throwing his arm around her shoulders. "So, who's cryin tonight?" Sydney's cocky half smile formed, effectively distracted by the love she had for the little made up games her and Tig played.

"Aside from every woman?" She raised an eyebrow, making him snort. "Hmmm... Jax, Chibs, Opie."

"You sneaky little girl." He growled, shaking his head but she could see the pride in his eyes. She raised a brow questioningly. "Kids and failed marriages." He mused slowly. She pursed her lips, hiding how impressed she was when he perfectly explained her thought process. "Not me?" He asked tentatively, taking her aback.

Luckily as he asked the tough question, it was time for them to make their debut down the aisle, letting Sydney off the hook as she smirked at him before snapping her head forward. She knew that he had far more emotion and care than he let on, and the more she thought about it, the more she was shocked at just how different he was around her, still trying to wrap her head around it even though deep down she knew it was the exact same reason that she was different around him.

"Jax, Bobby, Ope, _you_." He whispered out of the side of his mouth, passing off the shit eating grin as excitement for the happy couple.

"Why me?" She asked in disgust, trying to keep a presentable smile on her face.

"Don't remember questions bein part of the game dollface." He smirked cockily, knowing that she couldn't react the way she wanted in their current predicament.

She could feel him working his way under her skin, planning to retort about how questions were perfectly fine when it was him asking until she saw how close the were to the altar, needing to wrap this up quick. "If I lose?" He just smiled a huge, evil smile before taking off in his opposite direction at the altar.

The ceremony began, it was the usual wedding antics, the vows almost putting Sydney to sleep. She kept her mind occupied by mentlaly ticking off the rosters as the tears started rolling, while also doing her best not to make eye contact with Tig as he stared at her.

Jax and Opie were easy, but she got worried that Chibs was already too drunk to be coherent enough for emotions. Bobby got choked up during the vows, making her silently curse him for pushing her towards defeat, and for the instinctive glance she took towards Tig who had a raised brow and cocky smile waiting for her. She rolled her eyes, only enough for him to notice which made him smile, trying to contain a laugh.

The alcohol started flowing freely once the ceremony concluded, Sydney was a few shots and glasses of champagne deep and feeling tipsy. It was looking like the night was going to end at a standstill as Chibs was already passed out, until the father-daughter dance started… Precious and her elderly father swayed across the dance floor and Sydney's heart dropped, feeling the pinch behind her eyes as she thought about her dad. The unexpected event reminding her that he was gone, how she would never get to do something like this with him.

Tears were threatening to spill over and she needed to get somewhere out of Tig's sight. She widened her eyes in an attempt to suck the tears back as she made her way to the bright blue portable toilets along the tree line. She let out the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding one she approached, tilting her head towards the sky to try and keep the tears at bay as she focused instead on the orange clouds. Her body jolted as she was startled by Tig walking out from behind the toilets with a wide grin, the reflection of the sunset bouncing off of his eyes. _For fucks sake_... Sydney had vastly underestimated him as she realized how much calculation he put into this stunt.

"You asshole." She laughed humorlessly.

"I love it when you talk shit to me baby." He smiled smugly.

"You know, I did say besides every woman." She attempted to plead her case but he wasn't having it as he raised a brow while looking unimpressed. She pursed her lips as she shook her head. "What do I have to do." She sighed and rolled her eyes. He just smiled evilly once again and walked away. She exhaled in mock frustration, pulling herself together as she headed back to the table.

Some time later the bouquet toss was underway; so naturally, Sydney took the opportunity to make her way to the bar for some more tequila. She took two shots, turning to see who the unlucky victim would be when she felt someone pulling her back, whipping her head around to see Jax standing with a grin as wide as the Chesire Cat.

"Somethin funny?" She raised her eyebrows and looked at him expectantly.

He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Got him acting like a gentleman. Still can't believe it." He said with an amused look as he nodded towards Tig who was standing with Clay and Bobby.

"I know how to take care of the crazy ones." She cocked her eyebrows.

"Definitely not who I saw you goin for." He said with the slightest trace of jealousy in his voice.

"And?" She pressed.

"Don't you just think he's a little... Weird?"

In Sydney's _unusual_ mind, she didn't think Tig was weird at all. She lived for his regular talk of murder, unconventional sex acts and necrophilia. It was the nice stuff he did that had actually surprised her. She couldn't help but chuckle at how twisted her logic was. "You sayin you think I'm normal?"

He snorted. "Good point... You just be careful with him."

She raised a brow. "I'm a big girl Jackson. _You're_ the one who needs to be careful." A slight smirk played on her lips.

He retreated, knowing she had the upper hand and realizing it was going to take a lot more than some overbearing comments to get under her skin. "So you _are _going for him then?" Jax smiled knowingly over her inadvertent admission.

"Sure am." She winked, glad to have found her confidence rather than cowering under the invasive question. She ordered more tequila shots once he left, needing far more alcohol in her system if Jax was just a taste of what the conversation tonight would be like.

"What're you doin over here? Ain't you supposed to be on the floor catchin those flowers." Tig smiled as he approached her at the bar.

"I'm doing the exact same thing you are, staying far away from that shit." He chuckled.

She grabbed two of her tequila shots, sliding them over to Tig as she the last two for herself, surprised when he shook his head. "Tiggy!" She whined. "You aren't really telling me that I'm losing my drinking buddy _tonight._" She whined in disappointment when her partner in crime had no intention of wreaking havoc with her. Among many others on the long list of things her and Tig had become partners for; was drinking, he was always down for a fun time when the other guys were tired or home with their families.

"Told Clay I'm drivin, besides, we both know you can finish all of em yourself." He nodded and gave a sly grin. She shrugged her shoulders before downing the shots she'd passed to him - he wasn't wrong.

"You decide what I gotta do yet?" She remembered her defeat, deciding she would try to find out what her impending doom would be while she felt her buzz getting stronger and stronger.

"Patience darlin." He squinted as he leant back against the bar, scanning the party. She sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes, making him laugh at the exaggerated display courtesy of Jose Cuervo.

"You want somethin like this one day?" He tried to sound casual as he tipped his chin towards the scene before him, but she knew his intentions went further than small talk.

"Marriage? Or a wedding?" They both chortled.

"Both."

She thought for a second, realizing she hadn't ever really put much thought into it. She knew she liked the idea of being a wife and since she'd met Tig, those feelings only intensified, but she had never really seen herself actually marrying someone. She chose to stick to an on-brand, cryptic answer. "I think you already know the answer to that." And he did. He'd gotten to know her better than anyone else had, broken through her walls. He knew that despite her attention grabbing demeanour, she was private when something actually mattered to her, selective about who she opened up to - just like him.

Sydney felt his hand on her back steering her somewhere, pulling her from whatever daydream she had given into. "Where we goin?" She giggled. His hand moved around to clutch her waist, bringing her into him.

"We're gonna dance." He said in her ear, she looked at him confused as he grinned.

"Is that my punishment?" She laughed, he scoffed in mock offense and squinted with his hands held out expectantly.

"You kiddin? This is a reward baby." She giggled and rolled her eyes.

Sydney stopped, crinkling her face playfully as she ran her index finger along his jaw once she heard the slow music playing. "Since when does the Sergeant at Arms like to slow dance?" She teased.

"Since now. Come on, before I change my mind." He growled.

"Yes sir." She cooed playfully and winked, unable to contain her cocky grin as he tensed up. He inhaled and licked his lips as he looked away, trying to collect himself.

They got to the dance floor where he placed his hands on her waist, she reached up and locked her hands behind his neck, thankful that the dancing position held her upright, she snapped her eyes open after noticing they had closed, looking up at him. The close proximity allowed her to inhale an amount of his scent that she found to be even more intoxicating than the tequila she'd downed. They swayed around the dance floor to "Do I" by Luke Bryan, surrounded by the other couples. Sydney noticed a few looks they got from the guys, clearly shocked to see their Sergeant slow dancing.

"Dancing in my kitchen ain't enough for ya?" She teased, smiling at the thought of the silly dances the two of them had choreographed while cooking dinner together.

He chuckled as she traced the dagger tattoo on his forearm, waiting for an answer. "Nah. Not the same." Tig pulled her in closer, her hand sliding up his arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps as she found her way back to his neck, he tightened his grip on her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head, making her lay against his chest.

That was the last thing that Sydney remembered vividly before things got blurry and she found herself on the dance floor grinding against Jax to the beat of 'Get Busy' by Sean Paul. She vaguely remembered the two of them starting the line dance to 'Get Low' by Lil Jon, but that could've been hours ago and she would've had no idea. She was beyond hammered, hardly able to process what was happening, as it was happening - her brain like a lagging computer, catching up a few seconds late. Even in her impaired state she noted Jax being a little friendlier than usual with the dirty dancing as she felt his hands on her. The two danced often, she found he was a great partner - fun, flirty, and always down to put on a show, but it was completely platonic. She chalked it up to the copious amounts of alcohol, feeling a little better when she realized her normal dance crew of Jessica, Juice, and Half-Sack were there as well. She liked dancing with the four of them, they were all closer in age to her so they all knew the same music and dances.

Tig was watching from the bar as the VP's hands were getting more and more bold around Sydney's hips, pulling her ass against him. The Sergeant was trying his best to put a harness on his jealousy, knowing that the guys wouldn't make a move on her since he claimed her, but seeing another man with his hands on her, the way that he yearned for his to be was giving his self control a run for it's money.

**Some of the guys had been shooting pool in the clubhouse as Sydney was serving drinks at the bar when Jax piped up. "Wonder what the fuck her deal is." He nodded towards her as she leaned over the bar top, doing a crossword puzzle from the newspaper while twirling a lollipop between her lips.**

"**What d'ya mean?" Juice questioned.**

**Jax's lips curled up, he was into her - hell everyone was, but he saw the unmistakable crazy way her and Tig looked at eachother so his antics were purely just to rile up his Sergeant. "Just wonder when she'll drop the act and make the rounds." **

"**Don't count on it brother." Tig shot him down. "That one's mine."**

**Jax winced. "**_**You**_ **are not calling dibs on the twenty year old San Bernardino hottie." He scoffed. Tig had lost countless girls to Jax before, he knew that Sydney got on with him and the younger guys - seeing as they were closer in age with her, but he also knew full well that they couldn't hold her proper attention, they were just toys to her, she chewed them up and spit them out. **

"**You're fuckin blind if ye can't see the way the Lass looks at him brother." Chibs defended.**

"**No way, there's no goddamn way that **_**she, **_**is into **_**him." **_**Jax winced again, amping up the dramatics.**

"**I think she's actually into him... I don't get it. And they look at each other in this crazy way, it's like their eyes go black and they can't stop smiling." Juice recounted his observations about the pair, Tig grinned proudly at the reassurance his brothers gave him. "He's at her house all the time."**

"**So?" Jax continued pulling excuses out of his ass.**

"**You ever been to her house?" Tig defended.**

"**I ain't even been to her new house." Happy added bitterly.**

"**She gave him a key." Juice added, backing Tig up. **

**Tig smirked and glanced over to Sydney, making sure she wouldn't see him showing the guys the house key she'd given him, personalized with the cartoon Tigger key cap. Looking at it again made his heart flutter, he thought it was the sweetest thing someone had done for him in years, fighting the bashful smile forming on his face.**

**Jax furrowed his brows as he examined the key. "I don't get it neither, but that one's built for a bloody savage." Chibs defended.**

"**She is a savage." Happy rasped out.**

"**Dude she's even worse than he is! The other day, when we were tryna help Clay with an anniversary gift for Gem and he brought up those homemade dildos he gave as Christmas presents." The guys all groaned and snickered in memory at the true Tig-style gift. "First she was on her ass laughing, and then said she wanted one cause he won't fuck her! What girl does that man." Juice exclaimed with raised brows. The guys all looked shocked and slightly amused as Tig nodded in satisfaction.**

"**Her and Tigger were tryin to get Jackie Boy and his gash to fuck in front of em last week." Tig laughed, remembering him and Sydney wagering whatever they could to see what would get Jax and his whore to bare it all. **

"**You won't fuck her?" Jax asked, surprised with the disapproval heavy in his tone. **

"**It's complicated." Tig sneered.**

"**Oh don't tell me that little miss biker barbie is the one to get you thinking with your head and not your dick." Jax grimaced. "Dude, if you won't. I gladly will. Can't leave Princess lonely now." He continued his vexing when Tig didn't respond.**

"**She aint interested."** **Jax gave him a challenging stare. "You know what, fine, you go over there, try and get her attention." Tig snarled cockily.**

**Jax pursed his lips and nodded, accepting the challenge as he waltzed over to where Sydney was. "Hey Princess." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.**

**Sydney looked him up and down in confusion and pulled the lollipop out of her mouth. "Hi Jackson." She said expectantly with a heavy dose of sarcasm, the guys suppressing their laughter from the table. **

"**How ya doin?"**

"**Good." She said before twirling out of his grip and leaning back on the bar top, returning to her crossword puzzle. "You need somethin?" She asked unamused, not looking up.**

"**Uh, can I just get another beer?"**

"**Sure." She mocked and handed him a cold bottle. "You want some jergens with that too?" He bursted out laughing and blushed before shaking his head and retreated back to the pool table. **

"**Told ya brother." Tig grinned.**

"**Don't mean shit, she brushes everyone off like that."**

"**You really ain't seen him with her, have ye Jackie boy? Tigger, show em how it's done." **

**Tig smirked and pushed off of the table, walking over to her behind the bar. "Hey doll." He held her waist as he moved behind her towards the fridge.**

"**Hi Tiggy." Sydney smiled excitedly as she turned around in his arms, pulling him into a hug. He smirked at Jax over her shoulder and gave him the finger. **_**Cold as ice, but she melts in my hands.**_

"**You ever gonna let me do my job?" She teased as he pulled away to grab a beer from the fridge, pushing herself up to sit on the bar counter. Despite the teasing, she loved how Tig would never make her get his drinks while she was on bar shift, especially after seeing him demand them from the croweaters when they were working. **

"**Eh, maybe one day." He chuckled. "Saw ya talkin to Jax."**

**She shot him a discerning, raised brow, 'Gemma Teller' stare that she had quickly picked up from the older woman as she held onto the sucker stick between her lips, snorting when he didn't let up on the blank expression. "You worried someone's gonna steal me from ya Sergeant?" She saw a nervous smile threatening to crack on his face as he remained casual and took a sip of beer. "Don't worry, blondes aren't really my thing." She winked. **

"**They're mine." He responded, earning a smirk from her, chuckling softly and trying to find a distraction. "How is bar shift tonight anyways?**

**She shrugged and looked down as she extended her legs over to the counter across from her, blocking him in. She frowned while avoiding his eyes. He immediately set his beer down and grabbed her waist, making her look at him. "What's wrong Princess?" He pulled the sucker out of her mouth.**

**She shrugged again. "I don't know, just a bad day." She said quietly as she dropped one leg down, allowing him to get between them as he pulled her into a hug, his entire body surrounding hers.**

"**Oh sweetheart... Anything I can do?"**

"**You could tell me about that little conversation you boys're havin about me." She said in his ear with a smirk, feeling him freeze and shift slightly as he glanced over to the guys who were all watching. He pulled his body away but they kept their hands on each other as he gave her an intrigued scowl when he saw the deviant look on her face. **

**Sydney shifted her eyes in the direction of the guys then leaned up, pulling him down and kissed him on the cheek before winking at him, watching his face light up in a grin before he slowly slid the sucker back in her mouth.**

**Tig became very aware of his position between her legs as he wondered how the fuck she knew what they were talking about, and if her actions were to prove her point, however his concern over her knowledge went to the back of his mind once he realized the way that her foot had instinctively hooked behind his knee with their bodies close and lips closer. He sorted his bewildered look quickly before grabbing his beer and returning to the table they had moved to. **

**The unconvinced look remained on Jax's face as Tig sat back down, which Sydney caught, fueling her decision to push further. She bit down on the sucker, crushing the remaining candy before she walked over with fresh beers for Chibs, Happy, and Juice, placing them in front of the men. **

"**So, what are you boys gossiping about?" She mused, walking around the table, stopping at Tig's chair, seeing their faces go white. She smirked, placing her palms on the table with a brow raised. **

"**Club shit-"**

"**Shit for the wedding-" Jax and Juice replied at the same time. She snorted at their horribly failed attempts to throw her off. **

"**Don't be gangin up on me boys, I might like it too much." She smirked and winked. Without warning she sat down on Tig's lap, leaning her elbows on the table. She couldn't see his face but based on Jax's, and his tense muscles under her, she was sure he was looking pretty surprised. **

**Tig face was white, eyes wide, completely taken aback before he gained his composure and smirked at Jax. Everyone sat in silence before Sydney piped up. **

"**Well, go on." She said impatiently, gesturing for them to return to their conversation. "No need to stop your chit chattin just cause I'm here." She leaned back, forcing Tig's arm around her, his hand happily landed on her thigh, visible to Jax. She trailed her foot down the inside of his calf, slightly pushing her thigh against his hand, making it slide down between her legs. His grip tightened to stop himself from going too far, but he didn't miss the feeling of her foot pressing into his calf **_**just a little harder**_ **when he increased the pressure. **

"_**This **_**is what you guys were talking about?" Sydney oozed boredom. Juice nodded quickly. "Ugh, I'd rather be dealing with them." She scoffed, getting up to return to the bar where two hangarounds had appeared. Her statement didn't exactly hold much weight however, considering most of the guys knew that she enjoyed dealing with hangarounds. She ran her hand over Tig's shoulder as she made her way back to the bar, turning around to see him smirking at the guys. **

"**Told ya. Mine." Tig stated matter-of-factly with a smug grin, to which Jax put his hands up in surrender. Tig looked to Sydney leaning on the bar top, chuckled when she smiled and winked at him.**

Tig was pulled from the exciting memory as he heard the groom slurring next to him. "You hit that yet?"

"What?" He shook his head, regaining consciousness. Bobby widened his eyes and nodded in Sydney's direction. "Nah." Tig denied with a shake of his head.

Bobby's eyebrows raised higher, sensing the jealousy. "Looks like tonight might be your chance." His face turned red as he laughed. "Go get your girl brother"

It was all Tig needed to make him take action, stalking over to the dance floor. Even in Sydney's drunken state she noticed him approaching her from across the property and apparently so did Jax because he quickly backed off. It didn't matter though because she ran right over to Tig the second she saw him.

"Tiggy!" She exclaimed as she jumped up onto him and kissed him on the cheek while he stood motionless, revelling in the moment before remembering why he was there, shaking his head and pulling her to the ground, making her frown.

"Don't you be acting cute." His demeanour softened a little as he saw how sad she looked.

Sydney had learned from a young age that not many things actually upset her, but she had a sad face that no man could say no to, using Happy as her guinea pig over the years, perfecting her pout and watery eyes to get her way. "You're done. Come on." Tig gestured towards the lot.

She pouted but began stumbling towards his bike when his expression didn't let up. "You have no goddamn idea what I would do to you if you were mine." He mumbled, barely enough that she could hear as she stopped in front of his bike.

_Then make me yours._

"What?" Tig asked, surprised. She looked to the sky, immediately acting as if she had said she realized that she had spoken out loud.

In that moment Tig had absolutely no idea if she had actually said anything or if it was just his hopeful mind playing tricks on him, urging him to make the move that invaded his thoughts day and night.

"The hell you takin her?" Sydney and Tig both snapped their heads towards the direction of Happy's unmistakable raspy voice. The sudden movement made Sydney dizzy as she stumbled back, Tig grabbing her arm to keep her upright.

"Just takin her home man. Clays orders." Tig defended calmly, he wasn't trying to _properly _anger the Tacoma Killer, especially when there was no ring for a friendly fight to hash things out.

"Yeah, _Clay's _orders." Sydney mocked, wagging her finger at Happy.

Happy looked down to see Tig's hand still firmly on Sydney's arm, holding her up. He took a few steps towards the Sergeant at Arms, getting close enough to intimidate him. "If I find out..."

"It won't." Tig stopped him before he could finish.

"Don't worry Happy Meal." Sydney broke free of Tig's grip, pressing her hands and forearms against Happy's chest, leaning all her weight on the muscular tattooed man who was like a brick wall, completely unphased. "He won't fuck me even when I'm sober." She slurred, flailing her arms about.

Tig was taken aback by the brashness of her statement, he knew it was just a result of her drunken stupor but he made a mental note to set her straight when she was of sound mind. He also figured that protesting her claims in front of the already sussed out Tacoma Killer would not be a wise choice, so he just nodded and looked to the ground.

"Calm down." Happy huffed in frustration, stilling her arms, he hated when she was dramatic. She relaxed but began to pout, trying her hardest to make tears come to her eyes.

Happy and her dad were the only people that she ever let see her real emotions and even then, Hap had only seen her cry a handful of times over the 19 years he had known her. He knew that those wet doe eyes were part of her ruse, the ruse that he couldn't help but fall for every time. He was unable to callous over his soft spot for the little blonde girl. She leant against him slightly, clueing him in immediately to what she wanted. He wrapped his arms around her as she sighed contently into his chest. "Needy bitch." He couldn't help but smirk, even on the verge of a blackout, she knew exactly how to get under his skin.

Tig expected Happy to shove her off even after he'd seen him comfort her before - but that was when he thought something was wrong, this was clearly an outburst fuelled by alcohol, something he thought the Tacoma Killer would surely draw frustration from, making him wonder if something really was there between them.

Happy was less than pleased with Sydney's choice but he wasn't one to stand in her way, what she wanted to consent to was her decision. He was however - one to step in if he thought she was in a position to be taken advantage of, which he did not put past his curly haired brother in the slightest. "You better be right." Happy grumbled to no one in particular before huffing away.

Sydney wobbled while staring at the stars, Tig grabbed her waist to stop her swaying, letting go after he was satisfied that she was stable. She whined and pulled his hands back to her waist, missing the contact. He scowled. "You're not gonna fall."

"I know." She said quietly. His scowl got deeper, wondering if his suspicion was true, deciding to test the waters and tighten his grip. She moaned and her eyes rolled back slightly, stumbling back before his grip around her tightened even more.

"We gotta get you home." He looked away, lifting her dress and twirled it around, hooking it in her bracelet. Sydney was seeing stars as she stared at him, but she didn't know if it was from the alcohol...

He lifted her onto the bike before sitting in front of her, she was already feeling dizzy as she leaned against him, closing her eyes. "Hands." She lifted her head and looked around, not able to process what he meant. He reached around and grabbed her hands, fastening them around his waist with the chain he wore around his hip, knowing she wouldn't be holding on safely.

"Not even gonna make me buy you dinner first? You're a cheap date Sergeant." She giggle-slurred before passing against his rumbling back from laughter at her joke.

She awoke as the bike came to a halt in her driveway. Tig unhooked the chain, letting her hands free before she immediately began patting herself down. "Shit." She cursed.

"What?" Tig looked confused.

"My keys are... At Gemma's." She attempted to recall with fluttering eyes. Tig re-hooked her hands around his waist, knowing she was in no condition to be on the back of his bike longer than necessary, especially with no helmet. He figured the safest bet would be taking her to the clubhouse, knowing Gemma and Clay's was a further drive, and that they wouldn't be home for quite some time yet.

She didn't sleep this time, just hung her head as her eyes drooped to the point where they were almost closed. Once they arrived he lifted her off of his bike but she was stumbling hard now. "Come here babygirl" He said gently with his voice full of care, stopping her as he lifted her in his arms. He felt a chill run through his veins as the warmth of her body surrounded him, her sweet scent invading his airway. He clutched a little tighter, making her swoon. His arms had become her favourite place.

Tig decided on the short walk to the clubhouse that his gentlemanliness only went so far, going against his better judgment and taking her back to his room instead of to Happy's. Maybe this would show his tattooed brother that he wasn't scared to take her from him in case things weren't as platonic as the two of them like to say.

Sydney dozed off again on their way back to his room, waking up as he placed her onto the mattress gently. "Tiggy." She mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

"Shh" He murmured before he started lifting himself upright but she held him there, staring into his eyes before pulling him closer to her lips. He hesitated, kissing her on the cheek instead, grabbing her forearms to release the grip around his neck. "You're drunk, Kitten." He said softly.

Sydney hardly knew what was going on, but the burn from the scorching heat of desire she had between her legs was getting unbearable. He caught the look she gave him, making him sigh and lean down, pulling her into a hug. "Trust me doll, you have no idea how hard it is to say no to you right now." He pressed his lips against her neck below her ear as he spoke, sending chills up her spine. Her hand clutched the back of his neck in response to the pleasure, feeling him twitch as she released an involuntary moan. The room was spinning, she was convinced that her eyes were doing circles, but she knew clear as day that she wanted him.

"You don't want me Tiggy?" She asked quietly, the sadness in her voice tugged at his heartstrings. He sighed, lifting up to meet her eyes and cupping her cheek.

"Sweetheart... I want you more than anything, but not like this." Her sadness was trumped by his admission, wondering if he was only saying this because he thought she wouldn't remember in the morning.

He pulled her up to sit, scooting behind her as he began unpinning her hair. Even in her drunken state, she was overcome with emotion from his soft gesture. He ran his fingers through her hair gently once it was all released from its bedazzled confines.

"Better?" He asked just above a whisper, the feeling of his breath on her neck had her hand automatically going behind her and snaking up the side of his, holding him to her. She nodded before he pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the top of the head before standing up, pulling her up with him by her hands. He threw the covers back with one hand while he held her upright by an arm wrapped around her waist, turning her around slowly to unzip her dress. "Stay there. Don't get any ideas." He said firmly which made her giggle.

Sydney stood as still as possible, swaying nonetheless. He handed her a big t-shirt. "Put this on, lay down. You're not sleepin in that." He turned around, quickly closing the bathroom door behind him, refusing to look at her as she undressed, that would've easily pushed him over the edge. He changed into his own t-shirt and pyjama pants - which he'd never had a use for until now.

When Tig came back he saw her passed out on top of the duvet, chuckling to himself first but was abruptly hit by hunger seeing her bare legs, with his shirt barely covering her black thong. "God dammit…" He grumbled, pulling his eyes away and inhaling deeply, walking over to her and sliding his arms underneath her and lifting.

Sydney was almost completely asleep, but naturally wrapped her arms and legs around him. Tig gave in, his hands with a mind of their own as the gripped onto the bare skin of her ass and he felt back onto the bed, whimpering as he sat with her in his arms.

"Take advantage of me Sergeant." She whispered seductively, lips almost making contact with his.

"I'm not touching you anywhere else." He shook his head as he forced the words out of his throat.

"It feels like you are..." She chuckled lightly as she could feel him hard against her, grinding on him the best she could.

"Enough." He slapped her ass playfully. Sydney hiccuped and laughed at the surprise from his action and the loud clap that his hand made against her exposed skin, wishing she could get more.

"Spank me daddy." She giggled as he lifted her back up and placed her down in bed, trying to tell himself - and his dick - that she was only joking around. His attempts faltered when once again, she wouldn't let go of him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to tune it out but the combination of her whimpering, his rock hard cock against her hardly concealed pussy, and grip on his neck did enough for him to swallow hard and lift her back up, laying down with her on top of him.

Sydney couldn't really comprehend what was happening, but she felt a satisfaction wash over her body, and then a warm sensation. She grinned huge once she realized the warmth was from his body pressed against her. Even in her state of heavy intoxication, she found herself surprised that the ruthless Sergeant at Arms had such a gentle nature to him.

She unhooked her legs and loosened her grip on his neck so he could get comfortable as she slid down to his side, keeping one leg draped over him while she laid on his chest, arms still around his neck. She inhaled his scent deeply and fell asleep in seconds.

Tig was breathing fast, trying not to gasp for air after holding his breath while she nuzzled into him. He tried to close his eyes and pretend she was just some whore who had passed out before he could kick her to the curb, but he couldn't. He would never hold a crow. A crow could never make him feel comfortable the way that she did. She made him feel needed, needed for something more than pulling the trigger or scaring someone off. He absentmindedly began twirling his fingers in her hair and gently trailing them along her back, sure not to wake or jostle her, as she was sleeping so soundly on his chest, this moment was all too pure for Tig Trager to ruin this soon.

* * *

**_Songs for this chapter_**

**_Do I - Luke Bryan_**

**_Get Low - Lil Jon_**

**_Get Busy - Sean Paul_**

**_Love Song - Lana Del Rey_**


	5. The Green Monster

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 5: THE GREEN MONSTER**

As time passed, Tig's eyes glossed over with the thoughts of her, not daring to sleep and allow himself to miss a single second of this. He was quickly reminded of his predicament however when she moaned in her sleep and adjusted her leg, which pushed against his still hard cock. He began wrestling with his thoughts, wondering what would happen when she woke up - if she would remember wanting him to stay in bed with her, realizing that the risk of her thinking he _did_ take advantage of her was not worth losing whatever it was that they had. He hated that he knew he had to break one of the most peaceful moments he'd experienced in a long time, knowing what the consequences could be, also knowing that he wouldn't physically be able to handle another one of her moans.

He placed his hands on her arms, squeezing lightly to alert her senses before he slid them down his chest, inadvertently making himself shiver. He grimaced and held his breath and gently pushed her bare thigh off of him. Her skin was so smooth, sending shocks of electricity through him as he twisted his body to get up off of the bed. He walked over to her side and tucked her in properly, kissing her on her forehead. _Talk about a fuckin daddy kink..._

He quickly pulled away when she moved under his gentle touch before slumping over onto her side. He chuckled in relief, grabbing a pillow from the empty side of the bed and throwing it down on the floor next to her. He moved to the closet, pulling a blanket down from the top and curled up on the floor next to her.

Sydney had gained enough consciousness to know that he had moved to the floor, forming an immediate pit in her stomach - and it wasn't from the alcohol. She wanted him more than anything she had ever wanted in her entire life, maybe even more than she wanted to be a Son. She cursed herself for being too drunk after hearing him say how much he wanted her too, hearing him finally settle on the floor and wishing he was still in bed next to her.

"Are you mad at me Tiggy?" She breathed out in a small voice, half asleep.

He felt the pang in his heart again at the sadness in her tone. "Never babygirl." He said sincerely, full of emotion as he reached up to grab one of her hands dangling off the bed, pulling it down gently to his lips.

Tig awoke the next morning to realize he was still holding her hand. He felt his heart skip a beat as he smiled warm, giving it a small squeeze before getting up. He was as quiet as possible as he gathered his clothes and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day, then heading to the kitchen to grab some Advil and water, knowing she would be needing it. Closing the door gently behind him, he turned around to see that he was cornered by Gemma and her all knowing stare.

"She left her keys at your house, I slept on the floor." He said with his hands in the air. She nodded slowly, obviously not believing him, before tossing him her keys.

"Hey man, church." Jax said as he exited his dorm, clapping Tig's shoulder.

Tig entered the room quietly, setting the water and Advil on the nightstand. He placed her keys on top of her dress on the armchair before folding up his makeshift bed when he heard her stirring.

Sydney snapped her eyes shut the second they opened, feeling the pounding in her head instantly. She groaned while clutching her forehead.

"Mornin sunshine. Headache?" He laughed.

"Mhmm" She mumbled dramatically as he sat on the edge of the bed, handing her the pills and water glass. She looked around his room slowly, taking in her surroundings.

"Feel okay?"

"Waking up to that face? How could I not be?" She teased, seeing the genuine happiness on his face before hearing his casual chuckle.

Apparently the short interaction already had her body pulsing for him as she noticed him staring at her chest where he could make out the same indentations of piercings on her hard nipples that had intrigued him before, beneath the thin fabric of the white shirt.

Sydney looked down and noticed the shirt she was wearing as everything from the night before, started to come back to her. "You didn't have to leave the bed you know." She told him with a raised brow.

"Trust me darlin... I did." He scoffed.

"Are you sure you didn't take advantage of me, Sergeant?" She mused playfully with squinted eyes. Tig was a bit surprised at first, but realized that he shouldn't have expected anything else from her, deciding he would turn the tables.

"Let's get this straight pussycat, if I fucked you, you would know." His words made her twitch. She could see the satisfaction on his face as she let a cocky smile go, raising her brow higher in challenge before turning her attention to swallowing the much needed painkillers.

"Nah, don't worry, I don't forget shit the morning after… A blessing and a curse." She snickered.

Tig's entire body immediately stiffened. "So you remember... Everything?"

"Uh-huh, other than a fuzzy 20 minutes between dances, I remember every shot, every conversation…" She mused slowly, nodding her head, looking at him knowingly as she watched him ponder what exactly that meant for him when they were interrupted by Juice swinging open the door.

"Hey man we got chu-. Oh… Hh... Hey Syd-. Hey Sydney."

"Don't fuckin knock man?"

"Uh sorry, I didn't realize..."

"Morning Juicy Fruit. Tiggy'll be there in a minute. Now would you mind closing the door? I need to get dressed." She greeted in a sickly sweet voice as she winked, watching his face go pale, so shocked by what he was witnessing that he couldn't even get annoyed with her for the nickname she'd coined him with.

Tig was wide-eyed, mouth agape, brows furrowed as he watched the wide evil smile spread across Sydney's face. "You know he's gonna go tell everyone right?" He asked incredulously.

"I know." She cocked her eyebrows deviously.

He chuckled humorlessly and shook his head."Why you gotta be such a goddamn cocktease huh?"

She snorted in response, a cocky smile pulling at the corner of her mouth before she slowly rose to her knees. Tig looked scared as she leaned closer to him, unsure of what he provoked when she began trailing her index finger from his knee, up his inner thigh as she spoke.

"Why does your cock gotta be so goddamn fun to tease?" She retorted seductively, looking down at his crotch, then back up to his eyes before ripping her hand away. He flinched under her fingertip - hardening instantly which jump started her evil grin. "You don't want your cock teased? You should've taken me last night when I asked." Her low tone was laced with challenge and bitterness.

That did it for him. Before she knew it, Sydney was on her back with her wrists pinned above her head, his face inches from hers. "I've about had it with you running that pretty little mouth. I have every intention of fucking you, Princess. So you might wanna think about droppin the attitude, before it gets you into somethin you can't handle." He growled.

Her face radiated shock and excitement, unable to hide the heat that undoubtedly made her cheeks red. "How about you let me be the judge of what I can and can't handle." Tig glared at her for a few seconds before chuckling humorlessly at her reaction and beginning to sit up.

"You know..." She began, flipping her wrists as he pulled his hands away, grabbing his wrists now and stopping him in his tracks. "I seem to remember giving you a key to my house, works on the front door just as good as mine." She said as she sat up, reversing the rolls as she pressed her weight against his wrists slowly, forcing him onto his back. He was frozen physically and mentally, realizing it hadn't even crossed his mind - that he'd had a key, as soon as the thought of her in his bed had entered it.

She half straddled him with a knee pressing against his thigh, smirking as he looked down at her bottomless lower half. "I'll let you think about how I should thank you for lookin after me last night." She whispered into his ear, brushing her lips along his jaw as she sat up.

"You are gonna be the death of me, you know that?" He mused before standing, after a few seconds of gaining control over his brain.

"Hell of a way to go." She winked.

"Gem's here, gonna take you to pick up your car whenever you're ready. Uh, your hair things are over there." Sydney chortled as he pointed over to the pile of silver pins on his dresser, feeling a jolt in her heart as she remembered him delicately letting her hair down.

An idea came to her, it was even ballsier than her other bouts this morning but she didn't care, his self-control was starting to piss her off, if he wasn't going to make the move, she was going to make sure he suffered. She stood up, seeing him stiffen out of the corner of her eye as she turned around to stretch, the hem of his shirt rising up and fully revealing her ass as her arms went above her head. She looked over her shoulder at him after dropping her arms back to her sides; brows furrowed, feigning confusion to his reaction.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in 'realization', pulling the shirt over her bare top half and tossing it to him. She was sure to stand with her back to him and her front out of the mirror, not giving _too_ much away. The shirt hit him in the face and fell to the floor, he didn't even flinch - that wide-eyed, lost puppy dog look even more exaggerated than usual. She smirked at him and grabbed her dress before walking towards the bathroom, stopping in the doorway to look over her shoulder at him. "And you say I'm the tease." She scoffed, closing the door.

Sydney waited for the dorm room door to close and signify that Tig had left and she couldn't help but chuckle when she had to wait a good 3-4 minutes for him to snap out of his trance before making his way to the chapel. She quickly slipped back into her dress once he did, hoping to catch Gemma before church let out. She'd brought the harassment on herself, but she at least wanted the hangover to subside first.

Tig sat at the table with his heavily hungover brothers as Clay spoke, his mind wandered off, recounting the events of the past 12 hours.

"Hey, Shithead!" Clay's booming voice knocked him out of his thoughts - along with the smack he delivered to the side of Tig's head.

"Yeah man." Tig shook his head, trying to refocus.

"Doesn't have anything to do with everyone's favorite blonde in your bed right now does it?" Tig shot Juice a look which made everyone laugh. He couldn't help but notice Jax looking a little upset, deciding he would let himself take this victory. Plus, he couldn't deny that he loved the way Clay referred to her as 'everyone's favourite blonde'.

Everyone's favourite blonde… in _his _bed. Everyone's favourite blonde, wanted _him_. Everyone's favourite blonde, begging _him _to fuck her last night.

Sydney staggered out of Tig's room, feeling the hangover _really _taking shape. She was trying to compose herself before she had to face the questions of the queen when suddenly she was yanked by the elbow into a nearby room.

The San Bernardino girl was no foreigner to the wrath of Happy Lowman, so she didn't even worry about who was dragging her away before she came face to face with him.

"The hell you doin girl?"

"What the fuck Hap?" She wrenched her arm away. Just because she knew who it was, didn't mean it didn't piss her off. She felt like shit and the whole point of leaving after church started was to _avoid_ being questioned.

"You heard me. Since when d'you fuck brothers?" Happy had been fairly certain that nothing had actually happened between her and Tig, but she _had _openly admitted to wanting to sleep with the Redwood Sergeant and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Her tone changed to a playful one when she saw his anger over the foreign subject as an opportunity to mess with him. "Since there was a brother I wanted to fuck." A smirk played on her lips as she spoke cockily. "Why? You jealous?"

"He take advantage of you?" He growled, seething anger at the realization that something _had_ possibly happened based on her reply.

"When'd you start thinkin I'm easy to take advantage of, Killer?" The coal coloured eyes bore into her, demanding an answer. "You would've heard if I fucked him." She huffed, rolling her eyes.

"They ain't like the pussies back home, they ain't known you since you were a baby. Here you gotta earn the way you get treated at home or they'll tear that ass up."

She knew his point was valid and that he was just looking out for her best interest, but her motives being questioned was never something she'd taken lightly and she wasn't about to start now, _especially_ while she was hungover.

"Happy… Are you entirely forgetting who you're talking to?" Her tone oozed sarcasm. "I'm just having a little fun, anyone who wants to treat me less than what we both know I deserve, will learn not to. Especially since I have you here." She smiled smugly and took back off down the hallway, happy to find Gemma at the bar as the chapel doors remained closed.

Sydney laughed humorlessly and shook her head when she was met with Gemma's stare. "Not now Gem." She begged.

The ride was relatively lowkey: Gemma teased Sydney, Sydney denied anything happened, Gemma couldn't believe it - pretty much what she had expected.

When Sydney got home, she threw herself into a hot shower - needing some serious time to herself to process the night's events. She closed her eyes and let herself melt under the soothing hot water, calming her aching body, pounding head, and raging sex drive. She had to admit she was kind of surprised that Tig had turned her down, but at the same time she was glad. It confirmed what she had suspected: he respected her, wanted more from her.

It had been a few days since the wedding and Gemma had recruited Sydney to help set up the umbrellas over the picnic tables around the compound. Sydney hadn't seen Tig much other than at work here and there, things weren't awkward but they were both a little weary of how to move forward, knowing what they wanted but still both unwilling to make the first move.

"Heard you boys needed some cheering up." Sydney called to Tig and Chibs - who had been working on a particularly stubborn car for the better part of the week - holding out two beers.

Tig turned away from the dirty engine, his brain short-circuiting when his eyes landed on her as the sun beat down behind her, creating an angelic glow against the tanned skin that was exposed in her blue sundress, her hair in sexy, loose waves as it bounced in tune with her footsteps. He immediately turned back to the car, needing something to distract his racing mind and hardening dick.

"Now ain't this a nice surprise!" Chibs exclaimed as he pulled Sydney into a side hug and kissed her cheek.

She knew that Tig was trying to keep himself occupied, but she had other plans as she walked over to him and dragged her nails over his abdomen while his focus was attuned to the disassembled engine below him, chuckling sadistically as he flinched. "You ignoring me Tiggy?"

He couldn't hold back his smile when he heard her exaggerated pout, grabbing the towel slung over the raised hood of the car and wiping the grime off of his hands. "Course not doll. The bar offerin delivery now?" He smirked, pulling her into a hug, feeling her shiver when his hand touched her bare shoulder blade.

"Waiting for Gem, thought I'd come make sure that the ol' Impala hadn't fucked you guys around too hard." She chuckled.

"It couldn't fuck us old bastards even if it tried Lass." Chibs gestured between him and Tig with a raised brow.

"I know I'd spend my whole day fucking you old bastards if I could." She gave them both a lazy once over, watching them awkwardly stare at each other as they silently tried to figure out if she was being serious or not.

The tension in the air was cut by the screeching of chains along the pavement as Juice and Half-Sack pulled into the lot in the tow truck which carried a Corolla that had been improperly loaded as one wheel hung off the bed. "Fucking Christ!" Chibs yelled as he stalked out of the garage towards the younger men.

Tig and Sydney both chuckled as they heard the Scotsman cursing like a sailor once he reached them. "You should go help them." She nodded.

"Eh, they can take care of it without me." Tig wasn't one to do more work than needed.

"You mean like I have to do?" Her voice dropped in genuine disappointment. Tig froze, staring at her like a deer in the headlights, knowing that the innocence in her voice was anything but.

"What's wrong Sergeant?" She stepped towards him, pressing her body against his, her eyes flicking from his chest to his lips. "You afraid I'll show you the time of your life and your little whores won't be able to satisfy you anymore?" Her tone was low, seductive, and dangerous. He couldn't form a coherent response as he just stared at her with hardened eyes as she looked him up and down disapprovingly. "That's what I thought." She scoffed, making to pull away.

He gripped her arm, roughly pulling her back before pressing his body against hers, backing her against the car. Her chest was pressed so close to his that she knew he could feel the pounding of her heart (that she felt could explode at any second). "Not even close Dollface, we're past the point of them not being able to satisfy me."

He could feel her chest heaving with excitement, and the heat was as evident on her cheeks as the lust was in her eyes. He cocked his head back and chuckled low at her reaction, his arm going around her waist and pulling her back into him, pressing his lips against her temple and speaking through gritted teeth. "Now let me get back to work."

Gemma was doing God's work as she pulled into her parking spot at that exact moment, providing Sydney the escape she needed, smiling devilishly and turning to meet the matriarch.

Half of the tables had successfully been set up when suddenly the pole they were working on, snapped. "Shit… Would you mind checking up on the roof? I think we have some spares up there." Gemma asked.

"Yeah, sure." Sydney walked off towards the ladder, taking caution as her white cork wedges weren't exactly climbing shoes.

"Hey Tigger!" Gemma called him over after watching his eyes affix themselves to Sydney as she crossed the compound.

He jogged over. "What's up Gem?" She just pursed her lips and nodded her head in Sydney's direction, giving him her all-knowing staredown.

"You're different since she got here. You care about her." She observed, Tig didn't say anything - unsure how to answer, but he definitely didn't deny it. "Wanna tell me somethin?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Nothin to tell." He remained tight lipped about the feelings he was still struggling to wrap his mind around.

"Not what I hear around here."

"Haven't fucked her." Tig stated almost defensively in response to Gemma confronting him with rumors, realizing just what he'd done once the words slipped from his lips.

She figured as much, assuming that Sydney would've told her if something had happened, but she was still shocked to hear it coming out of the mouth of the infamous Tig Trager. "You two spend every day together, you're at her house all the time, you drink together, she sleeps in your bed. You gonna stand there and tell me _you _haven't fucked her?"

"She does the same shit with Hap, why should it be any different for me." There was a bite in his tone as he recounted the few times Sydney had crashed in Happy's dorm after a night of drinking, something that she was clearly comfortable doing. The blue eyed man didn't have the easiest time accepting that Happy was nothing more than family to her and was just protective when it came to other guys, having her stay in his dorm or in whatever bed he was occupying during club parties or outings.

**It was Sydney's first night drinking in the SAMCRO clubhouse, showing these men just what she was made of. Her and Tig were currently sloshed after multiple drinking games, including one of 'who can chug the most Jameson in one go', still standing as most of the other guys had passed out or paired off with their croweaters for the night.**

"**No no no, there's no god damn way that you can drink this much and not have super powers, you're like, a buck twenty at best." Tig slurred, surmising how she was managing to keep up with him: a seasoned vet. He'd thought that swinging around whilst singing along to 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac surely would've rattled her stomach enough to slow her down, but she was showing no signs of stopping any time soon.**

"**You aint seen nothin Tiger." She nodded in circles, making herself dizzy as she almost fell out of her chair, hysterically laughing with Tig as he steadied her.**

"**You are **_**so**_ **gonna pass out before me." He mused with heavy eyes.**

"**I don't think so." She drew out, wagging her finger at him.**

"**Tell ya what, whoever can do more body shots off the other person wins." He grinned with that signature glint in his eye. **

"**You're on. Strip." She gestured to his clothes.**

"**Come little girl." A voice came from behind them as Sydney was pulled out of her seat by her elbow before Tig could even properly locate the buttons on his shirt.**

"**You gonna be sayin that later." She laughed at her own joke before dramatically sighing when he didn't let up. "Why can't you ever ask nicely Hap." She whined, pulling her arm away.**

**The bald man just rolled his eyes, reaching out for her elbow again. "We both know you aint gonna do shit if I ask nice."**

"**Mmm you know I like it rough." She cooed at him, earning a silent warning from the Killer.**

"**Come on Hap, why you gotta be such a party pooper." Tig whined.**

"**You'll end up dead if she keeps going." Sydney smirked knowingly at Tig who began protesting, not making any effort to move from her spot. "Lets go." Happy growled, growing impatient. **

"**Don't you got crows to go take care of Hap? Princess can stay in my room, I'll take care of her." Tig grinned.**

"**I don't take care of them." Happy growled and took off with Sydney in tow as she chuckled at just how **_**literal **_**he was.**

**A pit formed in her stomach when she glanced back at Tig, almost apologetically. In her state of intoxication she didn't understand why she felt guilty going to bed with Happy when Tig knew there was nothing romantic or sexual between the two, and that it was something she had done her whole life.**

**Even on the verge of blacking out, Tig still felt a pang of jealousy in his chest as he watched her go to bed with another man, but that pang turned into confusion as he saw the look she gave him, wondering what exactly it meant. **

"**Hap slow down my feet hurt." Sydney whined as Happy dragged her through the crowd of unconscious bodies and down the hallway, stumbling as a result of her intoxication, 5 inch stilettos, and aching feet.**

"**Wouldn't hurt if you didn't dance like a whore." Happy smirked and unlocked his door.**

"**It's not my fault these girls needed a lesson." She stumbled across the room, managing to yank her heels off without falling.**

"**VP didn't need a lesson." **

**She smirked thinking about the shock she elicited from everyone hours earlier; shoving Jax into a chair and showing him **_**just **_**how much he was missing out on. "Collateral damage... He didn't seem to mind." She shrugged, giving a sly smirk. **

"**No guy would mind a lap dance." Happy argued weakly, knowing full well that there was not a single girl in Charming who could shake her ass the way that Sydney could.**

"**Don't even try Hap. We both know you can't wait for your birthday lap dance." She giggled uncontrollably now. **

"**Enough." Happy growled, but the smirk was still playing on his lips. He shoved a pair of pyjamas into her chest before spinning her around and nudging her towards the bathroom. **

"**Uh-uh." She pouted like a toddler. **

"**Girl." He warned, initiating a stare down - he was tired and wanted to sleep, having had enough of her antics for one night. **

**She only lasted about 20 seconds due to her drooping, heavy eyelids. "Fine." She relented but didn't move until Happy grunted in response, making her roll her eyes, closing the bathroom door and changing quickly. **

**Happy was in bed by the time she got out, laying on his back with the lamp on. She crawled into bed beside him, looking up at him with those glossy, innocent eyes before he got the hint - sighing and lifting his arm so she could cuddle into his side. **

**She chuckled, peering up at him knowingly through her eyelashes. "Go to sleep little girl." He grumbled with his eyes closed, reaching over to turn off the lamp before she could see the smirk ghost across his lips. She chuckled at his reaction, annoying Happy was quite possibly her favorite pastime.**

**She started to nod off quickly thanks to the Jameson. "I missed you Hap." She said sleepily, quietly, drifting off as she felt his lips on top of her head.**

"**I missed you, Princess."**

"**I was thinking you forgot about me Tiggy." Tig glanced up to see a hand on his thigh. He trailed his eyes up the arm to see Cheryl. After a few seconds of trying to focus his eyes, his face fell into an immediate grimace. **

"**Get off me." He shoved her off and stumbled to his room, passing out just in front of his door.**

"Sweetheart, she don't look at Hap the way she looks at you." She noted the softness behind his eyes. "But somethin tells me you already know that..." She added with a smirk.

"I haven't fucked her." He confirmed.

"Well shit." She scoffed, widening her eyes knowingly. "You _really_ care about her."

Gemma's simple words seemed to put everything into perspective for Tig. He was wrestling with all of his out of character behavior towards Sydney but the easy words of the matriarch made him realize the simple fact that he _did _care about her. He hadn't brought himself to sleep with her yet because he knew he wanted more than that, and that was something that he hadn't felt in decades.

Slipping on the metal rungs, Sydney finally safely reached the top. She spun around slowly, admiring how beautiful the view was from the higher altitude. The view from her house was nice but the hills blocked anything extraordinary.

"Nice up here huh?" She whipped her head around to see Tig standing with his hands on his hips, those beautiful eyes squinting against the sun.

"Sure is." She said dreamily before spotting the poles along the edge, walking over to grab one.

"I got it darlin" Tig leaned over top of her, grabbing the pole, his goatee tickling her bare shoulder and sending shivers down her spine. He walked back over to the ladder and started heading down.

Sydney made the conscious decision this time to slip her shoes off before starting down after him, following his glacial pace. Even with a pole in one hand it seemed that he was taking much longer than he should've been. She shut her eyes and deeply inhaled in realization that she'd let it somehow slip past her that he had gone first so that he could look up her dress. She peered down at him just before he could snap his head down in time, making her grit her teeth in an attempt to stifle the amused grin spreading across her face.

"Enjoying the view?" She called. He chuckled, saying nothing before she grazed the top of her foot under his chin, tipping his head back up. His crystal blue eyes went wide as she held him in place for a few seconds, giggling and moving her foot to the top of his head, shoving him down the ladder.

"Keep givin me tastes I'm gonna keep wantin more." He stated simply.

"Guess I should skip panties next time then huh?"

Tig grinned to himself as he felt the familiar warmth in his chest at her cocky response before making his way down. Once he reached the bottom, he jumped off the ladder and immediately dropped the pole, grabbing her hips and spinning her around in his arms, carrying her to the nearest picnic table as she clutched her shoes to her chest.

She crinkled her brows as he set her down and grabbed her shoes from her. "Could be glass on the ground doll." He said simply as he crouched down and began unbuckling the straps of her wedges. The butterflies in her stomach swarmed as she anticipated his hands on her.

She leaned back onto her forearms, lifting her leg for him slightly. He slid the left one on first, carefully buckling it so it was tight around her ankle, but not too tight. He was gentle, easing her leg down and lifting the other, his movements were slow, each touch sending shocks through her body. He was doing this on purpose of course, his own senses shorting out as he stroked her soft skin. He caught sight of the little happy face tattoo on the top of her right foot, noting that it looked a lot like the ones that littered Happy's abs. He wondered what the significance was to it, knowing it had to have something to do with the stone-faced Nomad.

Sydney lifted her left foot to drag slowly up his thigh, reaching his chest as she effectively drew his attention away from her ink. He froze, looking up at her slowly, tightening his grip when he saw the hungry look in her eye as she bit her lip. His hand on her ankle slid up her calf, over the back of her knee, creeping up her thigh as he stood up and leaned into her. She closed her eyes, inhaling his intoxicating scent, waiting for his lips to meet hers.

"Hey come on!" Gemma yelled, successfully halting the long awaited embrace.

Sydney's eyes cracked open as Tig slowly turned to face Gemma, then turned back. He could feel her muscles tensing and he could hear her heavy breathing, dragging his hand back down the way it came as he pulled back, winking at her before grabbing the pole and walking back over to Gemma.

She knew that he'd been holding back on his abilities in their little chase, but now they'd entered new territory. With sexual frustration this high, Sydney was realizing that accepting defeat was a very real possibility.

Tig returned to his dorm after yet another close encounter with Sydney. He ordered some pizza, shrugged out of his TM shirt and sprawled out on his bed, turning the TV on and flipping through the channels, attempting to find something to take his mind off of his rock hard dick. He had found the opposite. His thumb stilled on the remote as the channel flipping landed on XXX, girl on girl. _Not the worst thing in the damn world. _He figured releasing some tension wouldn't be a horrible thing if they were going to keep this up, his urges had him feeling like a lightweight.

Tig usually hated masturbating, that's what the crows were around for, but he had condemned himself to it since she arrived in town. He unzipped his jeans, freeing his erection, giving it a few lazy strokes as he half paid attention to the naked girls touching each other on tv - once again, she took over his thoughts.

"Uh, delivery for a Mr. Trager?" Sydney heard a nervous voice behind her as she held the pole steady while Gemma stretched the fabric across the spokes. She turned to see a young boy, couldn't be older than 16, trembling with a pizza in hand.

She chuckled. "Sack!" She yelled across the lot, her voice going shockingly loud, earning a brow raise from Gemma. Half-Sack ran over, immediately grabbing the pizza from the kid.

"Nah." Sydney stopped him. "Come help Gem." Gemma's brow raised higher. Sydney just smirked, grabbing the pizza before she curtsied mockingly to the queen and waltzed towards the clubhouse.

Tig's fantasies were interrupted by a loud pounding at his door. He wondered who he had pissed off this time as he listened to the slab of oak rattle on the hinges. "I'm coming dammit!" He inhaled sharply and muted the TV, zipping up his pants before yanking the door open, surprise hitting his face when he was met with Sydney's innocent smile and theatrical presentation of his dinner.

"Oh uh, thanks doll. Didn't know it was you."

"Gotta keep ya guessin Tiggy." He chuckled, taking the pizza and setting it down on the TV stand next to the door.

"Occupying ourselves are we?" She raised a brow, nodding to the mirror on the opposite wall, reflecting the TV that he hadn't thought to turn off.

She fought the laugh bubbling in her chest as she watched the embarrassment inhabit itself in every ounce of his being, not knowing what to do or say. She smirked lazily and began to turn around, not lowering her brow. "Just so you know... The Saffron Sisters are better." She tutted her tongue and winked. "You should really get olives next time!" She casually called over her shoulder as she strutted down the hallway, leaving him stunned _and _confused.

A few minutes later, the smell of pizza pulled Tig out of his haze. He chuckled when he opened the box, realizing she had taken a piece, her comment on the olives now clicking in his brain.

Later that night Sydney had decided to hang around the bar, as it seemed it was more of a party than a usual Wednesday night. A few guys were down from Tacoma taking the opportunity to drink with their California brothers but subconsciously, she knew the visiting charter had nothing to do with her wanting to stay.

"Enjoy your dinner?" Tig joked in her ear as he came up behind her, placing his hands on her sides as she stood at the bar. She shivered, tilting her head as she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes and moaning slightly - hoping the extra effort would help push him over the edge.

"Wasn't really _filling_ enough." She smirked at her own innuendo. "Would've been better if I got dessert." She lazily licked her lips while he stood staring at her lustfully with his lips still at her ear. She winked, grabbing her beer and squeezing his bicep, trailing her hand down his arm as she made her way to the dancefloor.

Sydney was dancing with some of the crows and hang arounds, noticing Tig eyeing her up from the couch as usual, but an unusual set of eyes on her were those of a Tacoma man standing at the bar: tall, young, sandy blonde hair. He wasn't at all her type - her type was a certain tall, dark and handsome psychopath with piercing blue eyes, but she could definitely use this one to her advantage.

She smiled warmly and walked over to the mystery man. "Haven't seen you around before." She mused, leaning against her arm and twirling her hair around her finger. Tig's heart sank, knowing he wouldn't be able to watch much longer before stepping in. He would be damned if he lost her to someone else, especially when he had gotten so close.

"New patch, Eric." He took her hand and lifted it up to his lips.

"Sydney." She smiled sweetly as she felt Tig's eyes burning into her while Eric ordered them drinks.

The croweater manning the bar placed the open bottles in front of them. Sydney felt Eric's hand snake around her back which is when Tig finally stood up, but she didn't notice as she leaned into Eric.

"Have a good night love." She winked before grabbing the beers and walking towards Tig who had sat back down quickly when she turned in his direction.

"For my favorite man…" She offered Tig a beer as he sat on the couch next to a very drunk Chibs, who was face down in a croweater. "Courtesy of my new least favorite one." She glanced over at a huffing Eric. Tig immediately relaxed and started laughing, beaming with pride and relief.

Sydney raised her eyebrows once she turned her attention to Chibs. "Oy Princess!" He hollered, raising his head out of the woman's legs.

"Don't let me interrupt your dinner Chibby." She winked, patting him on the shoulder and pushing him back down, smirking at his crow.

Tig was intrigued by her act with Chibs but he was able to pull himself from his daydreams better than usual when he realized she was standing above him expectantly. "Sorry doll, old man's takin up the whole couch." He made a show of trying to move over for her to sit down.

"Ain't it rude not to offer your seat to a lady?" She asked with squinted eyes.

"Baby, you couldn't handle the seat I'd offer."

"You're letting _me _be the judge of what I can handle Sergeant, remember?" She mused. "Now, what seat you offerin?" She asked with a dirty smile.

He hesitated, trying to decide how far he wanted to go with his answer, figuring he would play it safe as he grinned and patted his knee.

She pursed her lips. "Shame." She brought her hand up to gently caress his face with her fingers. "This is the seat I was hoping for." She said in a seductive, hushed tone, pushing his head back and dragging her hand down his face playfully. "But this'll do... for now." She put her hand on his shoulder and snaked her arm around his neck as she swung her feet up, using Chibs as a foot rest. Tig grinned, resting his hand holding the beer on her knee, being sure to press the ice cold bottle against her skin to torment her, earning glares from her as she squirmed and feebly tried to hide her crinkling face.

"Comfortable?" He taunted, quickly grimacing as he realized her squirming around in his lap was not doing his aching dick any favors. She jolted when his shuffling placed the bottle in a new spot on her leg, this time his breathing hitched and he grabbed her hip, stilling her movement. Her lips curled up, cupping his jaw and leaning in close to his mouth.

"Comfortable?" She asked sweetly. It was him doing the suppressing now, squeezing her hip even tighter before he regained his composure and loosened his grip.

She rubbed her foot along Chibs' back while they listened to the crow moan. Tig smirked proudy, knowing any other girl likely would've been beyond uncomfortable. "Mmm this is turning me on." She felt his dick twitch under her leg and his grip tighten on her before she giggled sadistically and took a swig of her beer.

"Tacoma cowboy keeps lookin your way." He found a quick distraction but couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Sydney narrowed her eyes. "You a little jealous Tiggy?" She cooed.

He scoffed, leaning to growl in her ear. "Maybe." She smiled and held her mischievous gaze on him.

"I woulda thought you'd be into the jealousy thing." She quizzed casually, her suspicions confirmed by the loaded glance he gave her. "Don't worry. He's too innocent for me, I'd tear the poor kid apart." She explained with her eyes pinned to his lips, flicking up to meet his.

"You tear me apart?" She felt his fingers curl tighter around her hip.

"Mmmm Sergeant I'd love to tear you apart." She said low and seductive, turning on the bedroom eyes and giving him a dirty smile.

Tig locked eyes with Eric who was looking at them, an idea coming to him. "You're gonna give him somethin to look at." He said without breaking eye contact with the younger man, patting Sydney's leg before pushing her up off of him.

Her forehead creased as she searched his face for an explanation, the shit eating grin that she was met with was a telltale sign that her time had come to pay the piper for losing their game at Bobby's wedding.

"What am I gonna do." She sighed.

Tig glanced over at Juice who was in a chair by the pool table getting a lap dance.

"Him, or _you_?" She asked with a cocky smirk. She knew the answer, but she also knew the reaction that the question would produce.

"You think I'm gonna use _my _reward to get another dude a lap dance with _my _girl? Not a chance darlin. I've seen enough of that." His demeanour was playful but the jealousy over the memory of Sydney grinding against a seated Jax in front of everyone was laced through his tone.

She pursed her lips and smirked, walking over to the bar to stand directly beside Eric, asking the croweater who was working, to play a good beat. The brunette smirked when she recognized the look on Sydney's face, tossing her a wink after glancing at Tig on the couch.

Eric stared Sydney down before she looked up and winked at him. Tig watched, a little more amused than he should've been... _Serves the asshole right for thinkin he had a chance with _my _Kitten._

Sydney sauntered back over to Tig, leaning forward and placing her hands on his shoulders to push him back against the couch, giving him a clear view of her cleavage.

"He lookin?" She questioned in his ear.

He nodded with eyes on her chest, not a clue if the prick was looking or not. Sydney smiled her devilish smile, one that he returned as she slowly ground her chest against him, starting her show. Apparently this wasn't just about Eric though... She didn't miss the look that Tig threw at Jax: a smug smirk and fiery gaze.

"You still hung up over that." She asked in a mock pout, ghosting her fingers across his jaw and turning his attention back to her.

He raised his eyebrows almost in challenge but she didn't back down, keeping him under her demanding gaze before pushing off of him and doing a seductive spin before coming back to run her hands up his chest as she lifted one leg to straddle him. He quickly grabbed the other leg, pulling her into his lap and dropping his hands as soon as she was steady, but she was quick to bring them back up to rest atop her bare thighs, his touch sending a wave of electricity through her.

"I didn't let Jax touch me." She said breathily as she leaned into his neck, her lips against his skin, smirking when she felt him shudder beneath her.

"Thought you weren't supposed to touch the dancers." He protested weakly.

"I'll make an exception just for you, Sergeant." She whispered, looking down at him with her chest pressed against his.

She was doing everything she could to dissociate herself from what was happening as she could physically feel herself getting wet from the act. She began rolling her hips against him harder, focusing on her lower body instead in hopes that some friction would somehow ease the tension.

Tig became completely entranced, not noticing her playful scowl of discernment which deepened when his hands went to her ass.

For a second, Sydney completely forgot that this was for a purpose as her face fell eyes slipped shut. Tig looked up at her and smirked, leaning into her neck to inhale her sweet scent.

"Can't let him think I'm not enjoying it doll." He moaned against her skin when he felt her tense up, his voice sending shivers up her spine.

"You sayin you aren't?" She mused, her voice still coming out as a moan. He flinched as she ground harder, his grip tightening on her.

"Not at all." He choked out.

She ran her fingers through his curls, ripping his head back as she ghosted her lips up his neck and over his face, she was dangerously close to kissing him before sliding off of his lap and turning around. His hands rested on her thighs as she looked Eric directly in the eye while grinding against him.

Eric stormed out and Sydney immediately stopped, spinning around in Tig's lap to retake her original seat. Tig just stared at her, completely bewildered and much harder than before. His mind swimming with the thoughts of what had just happened, which showed blatantly in his eyes. She winked at him before getting up and waltzing over to the dance floor back to her group of crows.

A few songs went on and Sydney chuckled to herself as Tig stayed firmly planted on the couch with shock plastered on his face. A wicked grin spread across her face when she saw Jax walking over.. She knew it wasn't playing fair, but she didn't care.

"You here to dance with me VP?"

"Wouldn't be here for anything else darlin." Sydney smirked as Jax signalled for Half-Sack to play a different song and the two of them began putting on their show. Jax's hands were definitely more controlled without the excess alcohol, but she knew that dancing with him would get Tig jealous, and she hoped that jealousy would be enough for him to act on it.

Her arms were draped over Jax's shoulders and his hands were on her waist, her back was to Tig but she could feel his eyes on her. "He's not lookin too happy." Jax taunted in her ear, the close proximity making Tig look even more furious. Her lips curled up at the willingness to help without even having to ask.

"Then I guess you've served your purpose." She grinned playfully.

Jax just smiled and shook his head in amusement. "Anytime Princess." He said as he trailed his hand down her side and pulled away.

"Cheryl keep my spot warm for me while I was gone?" Sydney teased as she retook her seat on Tig's lap.

"Yeah, same way Jax did mine." His tone was venomous.

Her lips twitched the tiniest bit and she saw his expression harden instantly, enough to scare her a little. He clenched his hands on her, leaning in as he pressed her back up against the arm of the couch, speaking with dominance. "I know what you're doin Princess, and I don't like it." He sneered.

Sydney successfully hid her bit of fear with a smirk. "I think." She looked down at her hands as she trailed her fingers up his chest, lifting her eyes. "You like it a little too much" She stared at him, he stared back, unsure of what to say.

"Let's play another game Sergeant." She cooed, breaking the tension.

"What one this time doll?" He said in a dissociative tone, clearly still wrapped up in the previous moment.

Tonight's game would be that of perception: making bets and challenging each other on what would happen as they watched encounters around them. They played for over an hour, whispering and laughing to each other. Sydney was impressed, even after his stunt at the wedding, Tig proved to be much more intuitive and observant than she had thought as he correctly guessed reactions just as well as she did.

As the time passed they remained just as handsy with each other. He had one arm around her waist, hand resting on her hip, and his beer holding hand had gotten significantly higher up her thigh, and was now empty. She still had her arm around his neck but she would curve her hand around to touch his face or twirl it in his curls, her other hand rested against his chest. She loved toying with touch starved Tig, feeling the way he would tense or hold her a little tighter when she moved, not minding the slight release it gave her as well. Their display scored a few scowls and wolf-whistles from the guys, surely wondering what exactly was going on.

"Enough'a this game. I wanna play a different game." His voice dropped an octave, now a husky whisper.

"What's that?" Sydney taunted.

"I want you to open up those tightly sealed, pretty lips of yours and tell me a secret, I'll tell you one in return." He spoke _very _close to her mouth, his facial hair tickling her neck just below her jaw.

She took a shaky breath, licking her lips seductively. "You sure that's all you want me to open my lips for?" Feeling him shift beneath her, she reached up with the hand that had spent the last hour rested on his chest and caressed his neck. She leaned in, brushing her lips against the sensitive skin as she spoke in his ear. "I'll open my lips for you Sergeant." She breathed out.

His eyes closed as she spoke to him, flying open as he felt her lean back into a more bearable position and lazily twirled her index finger across his kutte nonchalantly. "You already know me better than most of the people here Tiggy."

"We both know you're full of secrets sweetheart." He scoffed.

"Well I guess there _is_ something you don't know..." The intrigued look in his eye almost made her smirk show prematurely. "You know those panties I was wearing earlier?" She looked at him with innocent eyes.

The beginning of her statement caught him off guard. He flinched a little, remembering the delicious sight of those dainty white lacey panties under her dress, sitting snug between her legs like a damn school girl fantasy. "Yeah I remember." He growled, inching his face and hand on her thigh closer. She unhooked her arm from around him, holding his face in both hands as she leant back, bringing him inches away from her.

"They're gone now." She whispered at his lips. Tig froze before tightening his grip, hands sliding down slightly, feeling no pantyline under her dress. He felt his blood run cold, realizing she had given him a lap dance without panties, she was sitting on his lap _right now, _with no panties.

The pair didn't move, staring at each other as if they were about to kiss and somebody had pressed pause. "I'm gonna take off." Sydney said after a few seconds, feeling it was the only way out after that surreal moment.

Tig looked, down discouraged - not with her but with himself. He wanted her to stay, he wanted to ask her to stay… "Yeah... Yeah okay, Princess." He sighed as he hoisted her up in his arms and carried her out to her car as she laughed the entire way. "You sure you're good to drive, Pussycat?" He asked with a raised brow as he put her down.

"If I say no will you take me to your room again?" She asked playfully.

"You're real lucky I respect you." He scolded as he spoke cryptically, but not cryptically enough, she knew exactly what he meant.

"I don't know if lucky's the word I would use." She shot him a cocky half-smirk as she got in the car and started the engine.

Tig hesitated before leaning down. "So am I really your favorite guy?" He asked with squinty eyes and a big toothy grin.

"See ya later, Sergeant" She cooed as she reversed out of her parking spot.

Staying out late normally didn't cause issues for Sydney, but the mind games she was playing with Tig seemed to have taken a mental toll as she flopped down to the couch in the TM office on her lunch break. She was dead tired, opting to rest her eyes and lounge rather than eat. Some time passed and she nodded off, coming back to earth as she heard someone come in from the garage, hit by a wave of that scent she knew all too well, hearing his footsteps become much lighter as he noticed her appearing asleep.

"Don't get any ideas Tiggy." She teased with a smirk, not opening her eyes to see his brow knit in confusion, but she swore she could hear him smiling.

"How'd you know it was me?" He sounded surprised, but that consistent hint of playfulness was laced in his tone. She didn't answer, just chortled knowingly, keeping her eyes closed. "You know it's a good thing it was me comin in here, not everyone is as respectful as I am." He mused.

She chuckled and opened her eyes slowly. "Ah yes, Tig Trager, the model gentleman."

He crossed over to the couch, lifting her legs to rest on his lap as he sat down, hating herself for wearing full length pants. "Didn't know the army was recruitin." He commented with a grin as he stroked up her calf, referring to the camouflage, jogger style pants she was wearing. She ignored the goosebumps that erupted under his graze, no longer cursing the pants.

She pursed her lips, biting the inside of her cheek to tone down her smile. "Figured I'd get to you first, can't have anyone snatching up the vet-turned-Sergeant." She played along, sliding her gold necklace back and forth as she grinned and bit her tongue, pressing the sole of her boot to his wrist where his marines tattoo sat.

"M'all about the service darlin. Who's the tired one now?"

She giggled. "Shut up, I was just resting my eyes."

He scoffed. "Ya, that's what Chibby says too before he ends up snorin like a chainsaw."

"Ugh okay fine, help me up." She lazily lifted her arms and held them out to him, sliding her legs off his lap as he pulled her to sit up but was taken by surprise when he kept pulling until she ended up in his lap, straddling his thigh, his arms falling around her waist as she collapsed. She made no effort to get up, resting her head against his shoulder. "You were supposed to be my motivation to get up, not stay." She whined.

"I'm tired too." Tig defended as he enjoyed a healthy dose of her sweet scent with his nose buried in her hair. She made to pull away, inadvertently grinding her crotch along his thigh, not able to catch the whimper that escaped her lips in time.

They both froze, wondering if that had actually happened and refusing to make eye contact. She felt his arms unwrap from her waist, tentatively trailing his hands down her back. "Tell me what more I gotta do today." He spoke distantly as a distraction while his hands wandered over her hips and landed on her thighs, hoping to get her to do it again as he dragged his palms down her thighs slightly, encouraging her to rock forward. Her body responded instantly, the thought of what she was doing not even having time to reach her brain as she lifted her head and brought her hips towards him.

"Hmmph. There's a shot tranny on a Honda." She all but whispered, her eyes closed with her mind in a completely different place.

Once he was satisfied with her forward thrust, his fingers released, curling slightly and urging her to push back. He could feel she was hot against his leg, clearly enjoying this, as if her gentle humming wasn't enough of an indicator. His nose brushed against her collarbone before his cheek came to rest against her neck. "What else doll." He whispered, his eyes closed now too, knowing he was winning this round.

"Uhm. There's-" She struggled breathlessly as she continued to lazily grind against him.

"Hmm?" He hummed, looking up at her, strongly debating whether or not now was the right time to finally go for it. She moaned lightly rather than answering, which she guessed he enjoyed as he buried his face in her neck.

"Tiggy." She moaned out in a whine as he continued to rock her against his leg.

"I know babygirl…" He hushed her gently.

Sydney came back to earth when she heard a throat clear and whipped her head around to see Dog standing in the doorway with an eyebrow raised. "Honda's on the lift." He nodded to Tig, who just gave him a curt nod and looked to the ground. She looked to his ring adorned fingers that were curled atop her thighs, smirking as she gave him a devious, fiery eyed look before getting off his lap.

Dog returned to the garage where Jax, Juice, and Half Sack were working. "Think I'm gonna have to take off before Tig creams my ass..."

Jax crinkled his brows. "Why?"

"Pretty sure I just cock-blocked him, the lucky son of a bitch..." The large mechanic scoffed with obvious envy.

"What? In the office?" Jax was thoroughly confused before putting two and two together. "Ahhh shit." An amused smile formed as he eyed the office door where a grumbling Tig emerged.

"C'mon man." Tig sneered and threw a hand up in frustration, gritting his teeth at the sight of the giggling men surrounding him.

* * *

_**Songs for this chapter**_

_**Down On Me - Jeremih ft 50 Cent**_

_**Motivation - Kelly Rowland**_

_**The Chain - Fleetwood Mac**_

_**Teacher's Pet - Melanie Martinez**_

_**Candy - Doja Cat**_

_**Guys My Age - Hey Violet**_

_**TKO - Justin Timberlake**_

**Thank you all so much for all the positive feedback😱 (especially after I spent years too scared to share my work lol). I promise there is lots more to come! I have 20+ chapters written that just need editing, once I'm writing in realtime my updates will be less frequent but I aint going anywhere 💁 ️ (just like Sydney and Tig's relationship)**


	6. White Church

_**This chapter takes place the next day! I really should've included dates for reference buttttttt you live and you learn. Sorry if there are typos, quarantine is driving me crazy😅**_

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 6: WHITE CHURCH**

Tig and Juice jumped out of the tow truck, breathing in the crisp morning air as they made their way to the office while Juice held an iced coffee and a bag from the coffee shop.

Sydney's last office shift of the week began as she watched the repo truck pull into the TM lot bright and early, giggling as she watched Tig growl something to the younger man before ripping the food out of his hands. She busied herself with paperwork quickly as they approached the door, containing the giddy smile and attempting to look like she had no idea that they had arrived.

"Mornin beautiful. Brought ya breakfast." Tig said with a smile, placing her goodies on the desk and standing above her.

"My, my. If I didn't know any better, I would think you loved me ." She teased in a southern accent as she leant back in her chair, nodding back and forth dreamily with a cheeky grin on her face and her necklace between her fingers.

"Oh baby, I do." He joked back with a growl before dropping his facade to be surprisingly sweet. "I like seein my favorite girl happy." He shrugged.

"I better be your favorite girl." She nodded smugly.

He chortled. "Only girl I spoil." Smiling as he saw the redness forming on her cheeks at his words, despite her cocky reactions.

"Just showin you what you're missin Sergeant. Too bad you couldn't handle me full time." Her expression was playful but there was a hollowness in her eyes, telling him that her quips held more weight.

"Careful with that ego Princess, won't be able to fit you on the back of my bike."

"Compound ain't big enough for both our egos." She winked. "We both know that your bitch bar's got my name on it now."

"Yeah yeah." He groaned. "What time you gettin off?"

"6:00."

"Can I watch?" He flashed a dirty grin.

"Oh baby you can do more than watch." She smirked, clamping her bottom lip between her teeth and leaning back in her chair. He leaned forward, placing a hand on one of the chair's armrests, hovering over her.

"Like yesterday?" His voice dropped an octave as he towered over her.

"Yeah… Just like yesterday." She rasped dreamily, twirling a strand of hair, her back arching up towards him.

Juice stood scowling in the doorway, wondering if the odd pairing was acting out purposefully to make him uncomfortable, or if they just genuinely had no regard for the fact that they had an audience; both being viable options.

Sydney peered at the bald man standing behind Tig. "Hey Juicey Fruit, busy day?" She asked nonchalantly as Tig retook his normal stance and broke the tension.

Tig shuffled over and ripped the repo sheet out of Juice's hands before he had time to answer. "Repos are all done." He handed her the now crumpled order slip. "Figured we'd get em out of the way for ya."

"Breakfast _and_ doing my job? Where have you been all my life?" She beamed at him.

He chuckled, returning the warm smile radiating behind her green eyes as they stared at each other while Juice winced in disgust, tossing her a wink before the two men left the office, punching each other like giddy teenage boys.

Sydney blushed, unable to contain her excitement as she giggled to herself and kicked her feet under the desk. Unfortunately, time was not on her side as she looked up to see Gemma standing in the doorway with a smug look on her face. The blonde woman's face went white, then red with embarrassment when she realized that Gemma had seen her entire reaction as the two of them laughed about it.

Tig and Juice were prepping the garage to get started on the day's repairs when Half-Sack ran up. "Let's get started on those repos." He panted, trying to look eager to work.

"Already done." Tig stated. Half-Sack looked confused, as the garage had only been open for a few minutes.

"Yeah, he insisted on getting them done early so we could stop and get donuts for the Princess." Juice mocked in a high pitched voice with his hands in the air.

"Didn't peg you as one to get pussy whipped." Half-Sack scoffed daringly, immediately regretting it as Tig's eyes locked on him.

"You ever even had your dick sucked?" The Sergeant squinted as he questioned the juvenile in front of him.

"Well..." He trailed off.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Now. You see that shit I got there?" Tig shut him up before he could finish, pointing to the office. "She's got everybody here pussy whipped and they aint even gettin pussy from her." He turned around with a snarl and walked towards the first car of the day, leaving the pair of amused younger men in his wake.

Tig was swapping the tires on a newer model Toyota Tacoma as Sydney watched him from her desk in the office, drooling as his arms flexed while he carried them around the garage. She had decided over the last few weeks, that Tig's arms and hands were some of her favourite things about him. His rings just did something to her, she swore she could feel the juices flow from her pussy every time he touched her with those rough manly han-.

"Sydney." Clay announced from the doorway to the office, startling her out of her fantasies, not having heard him approach. She cursed yourself for appearing vulnerable before her President - the man that she needed to prove her strength to.

He smiled with an eyebrow raised, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Whats up Pres?" She asked, trying to be as cool, calm, and collected as possible with a blush on her cheeks.

"Church after work." Her eyes lit up, she was being asked to her first table meeting.

"You got it." She tried to say through her smile, one that he subtly returned. She had started to drop her guard down a bit. Clay was right - these people were quickly becoming her family.

Sydney knew that as a woman, she would be held to every act of emotion she ever displayed, so she kept her guard drawn halfway, dropping it just enough to let them see that she was human. The last thing she wanted was these guys getting the wrong idea in thinking that she was just some damaged gash that Packer had felt bad for. She knew that she had to earn her place in SAMCRO, and she knew how much of a risk Clay was taking with her, she didn't want to lose her chance to prove herself.

"Good luck baby" Gemma said, smiling from the desk as Sydney walked out the office door towards the clubhouse after the day shift had ended.

"Thanks Gem!" Gemma knew how excited Sydney was to be able to go to church for the first time. As a woman, and an Old Lady, she was happy for her. Gemma was the only Old Lady in SOA history to be so widely respected and seen as a member among charters, they didn't call her the matriarch for nothing. She had become like a mother to Sydney very quickly - she never had a daughter, and Sydney never really had much of a mother, so the bond came naturally.

The matriarch had divulged to the little blonde that she reminded her of herself, and from what Sydney had learned about the woman she so deeply admired - she could see it. It was an empowering feeling. Gemma could be stone cold; do what needed to be done, but she was also the most loving woman Sydney had ever met She knew how to hold a man down, set him straight, keep a home, and be a fierce mother, she was everything that Sydney aspired to be as an Old Lady.

Sydney's heels sounded powerful as they pounded against the wooden floor of the bar while she walked to the chapel, more powerful than they had sounded yesterday.

"Congrats Syd." She heard Half-Sack say quietly from outside the chapel, stopping her strut to give him a hug, taking him off guard. She smiled widely at him. The guys gave him such a hard time - hell she did too, but he was a sweet kid with a heart full of loyalty.

"Thanks Kip" She linked her arm in his and pulled him into the chapel with her.

When they entered the room, Sydney caught Happy's knowing smirk. She smirked back, standing still before jumping into his arms, giggling at the slight groan that came from him as a result of her affectionate display as he stumbled back. She had been waiting _years _for this moment and Happy was the only person who knew how much it truly meant to her.

She chose a seat at the end of the table between Chibs and Happy, realizing that Tig was missing from the meeting. She couldn't deny the pang of sadness she felt, she wanted him to see her in action at her first meeting. Her bitterness was pushed to the backburner however as the guys came around to show their congratulations with a pat on the back or a kiss on the cheek while she smiled and basked in the glory.

The light tap of the gavel refocused everyone's attention. "Alright, that's enough, let's get down to business." Clay lit a cigar. "First things first, I wanna welcome you to our table Princess." He raised his cigar, the guys doing the same with their items of choice whilst one hand pounded the table as they cheered and she revelled in their validation. "Your Godfather says that you'll be of good use to us, it's time you start proving that." She nodded, thankful that her vulnerability to Tig hadn't jeopardized her position in the club thus far. "Now we gotta get you up to speed on what exactly it is that we're dealin with here."

"Running guns?" She interjected in the sweetest, most innocent voice she could muster up. Clay's attention shot directly to her when the wave of surprise hit the table. She smirked smugly, starting before he could protest.

"I'm... _observant_. Figured I would have to find out what my purpose is here, somehow." Her tone and accompanying smirk were just the right amount of cocky. "Your operation's secure, I'll give you that. Calls made on prepays, drops never consistent, Chief of police on your payroll, impressive. Deep ties with the IRA, I'm guessing we can thank you for that, Scotty" She said as she winked at Chibs, making him beam back at her. "But I'm assuming your problems are coming from your newly nonexistent storage facility and stolen merchandise. I'm also assuming that said facility was torched by someone you won't sell to, maybe someone who wants the business for themselves: Mayans, Nords maybe. Laroy seems happy on his end of your deal, supplying to protect his turf against the Mayans, giving the Mexican's even more reason to target SAMCRO. Now that you don't have a place to store between deliveries, with the feds sniffing around after the explosion, the oil drums are too risky. It's smart and they work overseas but are too cliche long term. No place to store means no sales, no sales means no allies, no money to rebuild... You see where I'm going with this. You need new transportation methods, ways to fund the rebuild, more bodies, more…" She smirked. "Distractions, while you plan a rebuild, which is why I'm here." She looked around the table, seeing every jaw slacked with shock. The only face hat stood out from the rest was Happy - eyes sparkling and excitement pure as day.

"That's my girl." He gawked in pride.

Sydney's gaze moved back to Clay, never moving her head as he shook his head slightly in disbelief.

Jax was loving the verbal smackdown Clay was getting from someone other than himself, but he couldn't force himself to drop his guard. Something about Sydney didn't sit right with him. Women were supposed to respect and obey the patched members, not challenge them with perky tits and a smug fucking smile.

"You know we kill people for snooping around our organization like that right?" Jax stared at her intensely.

Sydney snorted. "I said I was observant, not a snoop. You want a snoop? Keep talking to me like that and I'll list off all of your social security numbers and tell you exactly what you've got in that safe." She nodded towards the safe on the back wall. A couple of the guys looked to each other with a scowl, wondering how she had managed to obtain all of this intel, undetected. "I'd suggest you bump up your security." She deadpanned. "That is, if you don't want people _snooping_ around your organization."

Clay glared at Juice who was _supposed_ to be his intelligence officer. "Is there anything I wanted to say here, that you don't already know?" He surmised with a gesture of his hands, choosing not to acknowledge Jax's pettiness. He saw it as yet another act against him, refusing to trust the judgment and word of his President. "Princess" He practically spat Sydney's nickname.

She could tell that below the displeased expression, that he was impressed. What she didn't know, was that he was also slightly embarrassed, and hard as a rock.

"Doubtful." Her eyes flickered. "Sir." She added quickly, lips curling up in an attempt to stroke the ego that she'd just ripped to shreds.

"We discuss new transport methods, ways to earn for the rebuild, temporary storage arrangements, this week. Anything comes up, you'll know." Clay ordered by way of an acknowledgement of her statements. Sydney nodded approvingly along with everyone else.

Sydney got up to leave along with everyone else when Clay's voice boomed above the screeching chairs. "Sydney?" She looked at him with wide eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible. "What the hell have you done to my Sergeant at Arms?" Clay couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face as he asked the question that everyone wanted an answer to.

She heard the guys stirring around her: various whistles and Chibs yelling something in Gaelick. She felt her stomach flutter and her cheeks go red, quickly regaining her composure. "Just gettin to know each other boss." She responded with a suggestive half smirk.

"Gettin to know the gash between your legs." Clay retorted jokingly, but she knew he was testing her. The room fell silent as the group of bikers wondered how the young woman would react to the crude comments.

"Like Bobby's gotten to know the one between yours?" She fired back, eliciting whoops and hollers, unable to contain her smile as Juice laughed and shook her arm in excitement.

Clay's face went white when the balls on the mouthy little tart slapped him in the face. "You're alright princess." He laughed with the others.

Sydney smirked and left the chapel, being the first one out the doors meant everyone's eyes fell on her, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She strutted over to the bar where Half-Sack had run to begin lining up shots for the inevitable Friday night partying.

"How was it?" The prospect asked as she approached, but before she could answer the large group behind her started hollering and cheering at the bar, ordering her drinks. She smiled at Half-Sack, letting him know she was pleased with the session.

Not long later, Sydney hadn't noticed that Tig had slipped back into the clubhouse, meeting Clay privately in the chapel to discuss what he had just found out. "Darby." He stated matter of factly, so angry that his voice was calm.

"What!" Clay snarled.

"One of Unser's drivers crashed, found a few rocks in the truck, definitely Darby's shit."

"He's dealing in Charming?" He sneered.

"Probably up in Pope or San Jua., but Clay man, he's only been out of the hole for 3 weeks, you know he's plannin somethin big if he's already takin action." Tig pondered aloud.

"Only two things feel good in the joint. That's jerking off, and thinking about the shit you're gonna do when you get out. He's been in for 3 years. Let's make sure the rest of his big boy plan ends up on his cum rag and not on his to do list." Tig nodded. "How's Unser's guy?"

"Gonna live. Say we press Darby tomorrow."

"Alright thanks." Before Clay could bring it up, Tig heard cheering from the bar.

"S'all that about?" He gestured with a finger to the bar.

"Your little princess, first night in church." His expression fell, upset to have missed Sydney's first church. Clay clapped him on the shoulder, seeing the uneasy look on his face. "Oh come on Tiggy, she did great. Either we do a shit job of covering our tracks, or that is one smart bitch. Got a hell of a mouth on her." Tig smiled proudly.

"Oh trust me brother I know."

Clay raised his eyebrows. "Something I should know?"

"Nah... I mean we're friends. You know... We uh... We got things in common." Tig started squirming.

"Uh-huh." Clay huffed, clearly unconvinced. "Come on." Clay pushed Tig towards the doors to join the party.

Chibs had ordered Sydney a double shot of 151, just as she was about to grab it, she felt a rough but warm hand on the back on her neck, the cold metal of the ring clad fingers sending chills down her spine. The familiar smell of cologne and tobacco filled the air as Tig reached down and grabbed her shot, downing it all in one.

"What we drinkin to tonight doll?" He asked, removing his hand from her neck and turning to look at her, clearly trying to rile her up. Before she had a chance to react, Half-Sack had placed a new shot in her hand. She smiled, thanking him with her eyes.

"Aye you asshole!" Chibs started yelling at him. Tig just smirked, turning to lean his weight on his arm closest to Sydney, with his back pressed against the bar. "You need a chaser with that Lass?" Chibs asked while frantically motioning for Sack to hurry up and give the girl something to chase the shot with.

Sydney spun around in her bar stool, now facing the party like Tig was, with Chibs on her right and Tig on her left. She took the shot and poured it down her throat, refusing to do as little as wince as the potent liquor scorched its way down.

"I think I'm good" She winked. Tig tried his best not to look amused - and failed, while Sydney earned an awestruck stare from Chibs and Half Sack. "Tiggyyyy." She whined, the buzz fueling her display as she pushed her hand into his chest lightly, fisting his shirt. "You missed my first time at church." She pouted dramatically, giving him puppy dog eyes and jutting out her lower lip.

Tig had fully intended on making a joke, but seeing her look up at him wide eyed made his pants tighten and his mind go to a completely different place.

He reached to cup her face with one hand, resting the other on her thigh. Sydney felt herself shiver slightly, followed by a warm sensation as his thumb stroked the denim covered skin. "I know, I'm sorry darlin, I'll be there for the rest of your firsts." He soothed while rubbing his thumb across her pout. Her lips were soft and supple, but full, he couldn't help but think about how good they would look wrapped around his hardening cock.

He looked up from her lips, to her eyes just in time to see them flash greener when she heard his comment. He had expected her to fire something back or toy with him like she usually did, but this time he saw nothing but desire in her eyes as her lips tightened against his thumb, beginning to curl up.

"Promise?" She asked sweetly, tilting her head further into his hand and slipping her eyes closed as she nuzzled the rough, calloused palm that felt electric against the contrast of her soft skin.

"Oh I promise, baby." His piercing blue eyes went back down to her lips as he got closer, slowly lifting her chin to bring her lips up to his.

"Dude, you should've seen her in there!" Juice bellowed, jogging towards the pair. Sydney's head snapped in his direction, Tig still looking at her with her face in his hand. "Oh, uh... Shit, was I interrupting?" Juice stammered as he realized what he was walking in to.

"Of course not Juicey Fruit! You here to dance with me?" Sydney asked excitedly.

"Hell yeah!" He agreed, much more excited than he probably should've been.

Sydney had learned how to wrap each of the guys tightly around her finger, a trick she had mastered over the years. Hell - if she could do it to _Happy Lowman, _she could do it to anyone. She knew how to talk to each of them, how to intrigue them, how to get what she wanted from them. Juice was simple - he wasn't the scythe in the shed, he lacked maturity, and he was easy to please by the slightest bit of interest or good feedback. Sydney found him to be light and fun, but she could see past everything he was on the surface, he was someone very broken inside: a genuine man who unintentionally wore his heart on his sleeve and there was no doubt in her mind that he struggled to pull the trigger.

What Juice was however, was a great dance partner. She knew he enjoyed dancing with her, and luckily for her, he knew it was completely platonic, the lines were not blurred like they appeared to have been with Jax at the wedding. The two bumped, grinded, and laughed through a few songs, singing to each other and being silly.

Sydney was really starting to feel tipsy now as her and Juice stumble-ran back over to the bar. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her and they were both laughing hysterically for no reason at all - thanks to the alcohol. Tig was sitting and talking with Chibs, not exactly hiding his glare. The moment he saw her in Juice's arms, he pulled a nearby crow into his, clearly trying to make her jealous. She chuckled, _two can play at this game_.

"Hey little girl." Sydney heard the unmistakable raspy voice as a hand grazed the small of her back.

She smiled big "Hey Hap." The tall man slid into the empty barstool where she was standing.

"Impressive in there, as always." He winked, it was just as much fun for him as it was for her to watch the guys squirm.

"I learn from the best." She winked this time, the two of them chuckling.

"Saw you dancing with the Puerto Rican." She raised a brow in response.

"Don't worry." She rolled her eyes, remembering the altercation a few days ago. "As tempting as the homie hopping is around here..." She said with a smug look as she scanned the room full of beautiful men. "I'll leave it to the crows."

"You actually goin for him?" She felt her cheeks flush. At first Happy had thought that maybe Tig was just a decoy - going for someone that no one expected her to go for was one of her signature ways to keep everyone guessing - but he could tell by the look on her face that this was something more. "Never seen you like that." He let a sly grin slip.

She pursed her lips. "Is that bad?"

"Really? _He _had to be the one you chose?"

"You really that surprised? Think about it Hap..." As much as Happy didn't think that Tig was good enough for her - not that he would ever think anyone was good enough for her - the similarities between the two were uncanny.

"I know you won't go soft on me."

Sydney knew this was the closest type of approval she would get from him. "You think he could be good to me?" She questioned candidly. His eyes narrowed and his expression hardened, if that was even possible. She held her hand in the air to stop him before he could start. "Nah-ah Tacoma, I don't wanna hear any of your protective bullshit. 'He doesn't do relationships, he's an asshole, he's a freak.' I get it. I've been hearing it all month, but you would say the exact same shit about me if it was him asking and you know it. I care about your opinion, we both know how hard that is to earn. You've known since day one that I would end up with a Son, that I'll die before I settle down with some straight laced, vanilla pretty boy." Happy grit his teeth, almost snapping the toothpick in his mouth, he knew it was true.

"Don't know. Never seen him with anyone, never seemed interested... Sound familiar?" Sydney chortled. "That goes somewhere?" He nodded."He _will_ be good to you." She smiled and nodded at Happy's protective threat.

"If he ever grows the fucking balls and does something about it." She couldn't help but add bitterly, the sexual frustration was driving her crazy and Happy was the only person she really had to talk to about it.

He snickered. "He's playin with you cause you play with him. Aint as fun bein on the other end of it." He narrowed his eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "You know patience has never been a strong suit of mine."

"Needs a push from someone on the outside, you're both too stubborn to give it up."

An idea popped into her head. "Yeah... You're right, he does... Thanks Hap."

He leant in closer, catching her drift. "You're still mine." He whispered with a smirk before kissing her on the cheek.

Happy _rarely _reciprocated Sydney's flirting, mainly because he knew it irked her when he didn't respond to it, but also because he knew the reason she dared to tease him so adamantly was just to show that she wasn't scared of him.

Sydney grinned wickedly in satisfaction, even if she knew his intention was solely to fuel Tig's jealousy and push him to make the move, she welcomed the effort. "Always." She grabbed his face in her delicate hand, cupping his chin and bringing him towards her lips for a chaste kiss before she smiled and winked. Happy gave her a smirk and sauntered off, leaving her to meet Tig's angry eyes as his crow fought for the Sergeant's undivided attention, which she stared into eviley before he looked away.

Sydney chortled to herself before asking Half-Sack for another shot as she canvased the room for her next victim. "What's wrong Kip?" She teased when the nervous prospect hesitated to give her the drink.

"Uh, Tig says I can't give you anymore alcohol. I have to cut you off." He stuttered.

_That bastard_… Sydney had to admit she was a little impressed by his move. "Ugh! Come on Kippyyy" She fluttered her eyelashes at him with her voice loud enough for Tig to hear.

The poor kid's eyes shifted from Tig to Sydney a few times, looking anxious as ever as he tried to decide whose bad side was worse to be on. Sydney dramatically rolled her eyes. "Fine, but just cause I love ya." Half-Sack turned red and smiled, awkwardly turning away.

Sydney had a change of plan, remembering the multiple whiskey bottles she'd seen in Tig's room. He was a smart man, she had hoped that after watching her get turned down the alcohol - per his request - he would think that she was going to steal his. She locked eyes with him, trying her best in her intoxicated state to look pissed off before quickly switching to a mischievous grin, taking off across the bar and down the hall. Sure enough, Tig pushed the skinny brunette off of him and got up to follow her.

Sydney stopped at the bathroom door, waiting for him to catch up. Making sure that he would just catch her seductive gaze as she entered, which is exactly what happened. He stood confused for a minute before catching on, briskly walking towards the bathroom in awe, praying that he was reading her signals correctly.

She ran over to the sink to get in position, placing both hands on the edge and leaning on them slightly. She looked at herself seductively in the mirror, the dilating in her pupils and slight haze from the alcohol only added to the sexy, disheveled look she'd been going for. The door was in perfect view, and just as she had planned, it clicked open and Tig slipped in, stopping in his tracks when he saw the look on her face in the mirror, realizing what was going on.

_He looks so damn good tonight_. She gawked at him through the reflection. Maybe it was the way his top shirt buttons were undone, exposing his chain and a bit of chest hair - or maybe it was the way his dark hair looked after his recent haircut, or the way he rolled his sleeves up, showing off his muscular forearms and displaying the jewelry he wore. She started thinking about his rings again... Something as little as him even brushing his hand against her, fried her senses. She wanted to know what it felt like to have those ring covered hands all over her...

"You didn't have to go through all this just to get my attention, darlin." His words ripped her from her fantasy and there was no way that he didn't know that she'd been eye-fucking him with that cocky smirk on his face.

She pulled herself together, turning only her head around, semi-dramatically, enough to make her hair flip. "I always want your attention, Sergeant." She smirked. "But it looks more like _you _went through a lot just to get _my_ attention." She raised her eyebrows cockily and kept her mouth slightly open with a smile to challenge him as she nodded towards the door.

He chuckled and looked down, knowing he didn't have a comeback for that one. He reached out and locked the door, taking a big step towards her. _This is it, this was happening_.

"You want me to go?" He asked, praying that she wouldn't say yes.

She turned slowly as he approached her, pushing herself up onto the sink slowly as the gap between them started to get smaller, feeling the nervous excitement tightening in her stomach. "You wanna go?" She asked in a low voice, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes at him as her lids became heavy.

"No." He answered simply, looking her up and down hungrily as he closed the gap between them completely, his hands smoothing up her thighs, pressing his chest against hers as he looked down at her. Her head was level with his neck as she inhaled the scent that made her weak in the knees, fighting the urge to lick and bite at the vein that tempted her so vigorously. Her heart was beating faster and faster and she could feel his following suit beneath his thin shirt.

She laid back, dragging her fingers up from his stomach to his open buttons, lightly running them across his exposed chest as she turned her head enticingly, making sure she had him in full eye contact, keeping the distance between their lips exactly the same while she teased him before leaning back as far as she could go, wanting him closer between her legs. He gently brushed his nose against her cheek as she guided him to follow with her hands pulling at the lapels of his shirt. He was begging for a sign that this was more than one of her usual antics.

She could feel every nerve in her body ready to explode. From his hands on her, his scent filling her lungs, his eyes glued to hers, his lips centimetres away... She couldn't take it anymore, she could hardly breathe with the anticipation. "Do you even know what you do to me?" She asked just above a whisper, her lips almost grazing his as she spoke.

He had more than an idea or two, but he would've begged to hear it come from her mouth if he had to. "Tell me, Angel." His voice was husky, dark, and coated with lust. Sydney felt the tremble of over-sensitive nerves at her throat as she ignored the very real thought that she could go into cardiac arrest.

She leaned all the way into his neck, inhaling deep and letting her eyes fall shut. "Mmm." She hummed. "You make me need." She continued her slow pur, moving her lips up his neck as she spoke against his skin, grazing the skin with her teeth. "And I never need." She was at his jaw. "Anything." Corner of his mouth. "From anyone." She breathed out, her lips ghosting over his. It was what he needed, the final push.

His hooded eyes never left hers, they didn't look hollow and unfocused as they usually did when she knew his mind had drifted off or when he was trying to hold back, he was looking right into her soul with a fiery want that would've had her on her knees in seconds.

She was looking at him with the same want, the same need that only he could satisfy. His lips came crashing down on hers and she felt every nerve in her body spark when they made contact, everything around her melted away as she kissed him back hungrily, pulling him as close as possible. His hands roamed her body as they made out with fervour, moaning as he sucked on the honeyed tongue that plagued his fantasies.

He pulled back and licked his lips slowly, his eyes engulfing her body as he moved his hands over her shoulders, her tits, her exposed waist, eventually landing on her hips and squeezing, the cold metal of his rings against her buzzing skin only intensified the sensation. She bit her lip, smoothing her hands up his chest and gripping onto his shoulders, showing him that she was ready for whatever ride he was about to take her on.

He slowly pushed her legs apart with his pelvis, arching his neck and leaning towards her, feeling his hot mouth on her sensitive skin before he nipped at it and sent shivers up her spine.

Sydney's entire body was pulsating with adrenaline, she was sure she had completely burned off the alcohol by now, feeling nothing but this moment. He pulled his head back slightly and smirked before kissing her again, sliding his hands down her hips, to her ass as he began squeezing, pressing his erection against her as he brought their bodies as close as possible.

He stepped back towards her, running his hands up under her shirt, over her bra. She ripped the offending garment over her head, needing to be seen by him, letting it fall to the ground as Tig got to work unclipping her bra.

This man was definitely an expert - no fiddling around, he knew right where to go and what to do to set her off. He practically ripped the bra off of her, his eyes burning a hole through her bare chest when he realized her tits were naturally perky and his suspicions were confirmed when his eyes landed on the silver bars piercing the soft, puckered skin of her nipples. He grabbed her tits in both hands as he kissed _hard_ into her neck, biting and sucking at the skin, marking her in any way possible while he had the chance. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure as she grabbed a fistful of his dark curls in reaction to the rough and needy movements.

He moved down her body, taking a nipple in his mouth and sucking gently, rolling it between his teeth while his hands snaked back down her sides to her hips as he gripped them tightly, rolling her against him. They both indulged in the sinful sight before Sydney gripped his hair tight and looked up, silently begging him as she could feel her panties soaking, she needed to feel him inside of her, and she needed him inside of her _now_.

Not breaking eye contact, Tig began to unbutton her jeans and pull them down, yanking them off and over her stilettos. He grabbed at her now bare thighs, reaching around to squeeze her ass and bring her to her feet.

Sydney felt her hunger feeding off of his, slowly pushing his head towards her dripping wet folds. He licked his lips, stopping to place open mouthed kisses all over her body on his way down, dragging his hands down with him, looking up at her the entire time. Her heart quickened as he got closer and closer to her core, gasping or softly moaning every time his lips met her skin. He finally got to his destination, his face level with it and his hands just above the backs of her knees, but before burying his face in her pussy, he brought them back up to caress her ass as he moved in, completely mesmerized by her body, savouring the softness of her skin in his hands. He kissed her all around her through the fabric of her baby pink, lacey panties, as she had done to him, his hand starting to pull them to the side and out of the way, relishing the anticipation.

Sydney gasped loudly as the corner of his mouth hit her clit, the sensitive bundle of nerves being half concealed by the panties he had been working on.

"Pretty. Little. Pussy." He mused, his words broken up by kisses, moving her panties further and further out of the way with each brush of his lips until they were completely exposing her wetness to him. Staring in awe, he traced her folds slowly, agonizingly, making her whimper yet again. He got to his feet, trailing his fingers up the inside of her thigh as he did so, slowly caressing her mound as he watched her writhe beneath his hands.

Her bottom lip between her teeth, her head thrown back and her eyes closed, her body felt like it was on an electric current, tingling and jolting at his touch. He cupped her cheek and she let her face fall into his hand, opening her eyes. He narrowed his eyes when he was met with a needy gaze that bore into him, a delicious combination of passion, want, submission, and fire. He stroked his thumb down from her cheek, onto her lower lip, dragging it out from between her teeth and rubbing it gently, surprised when she wrapped her lips around his thumb and slowly sucked.

He growled and began rubbing her clit with his free hand. His entire body shuddered as he stroked her impossibly silky skin while she moaned against his thumb, sending a vibration through his body.

"That feel good?" He slid a finger into her slowly.

Her body jolted at the intrusion, biting down on his thumb which he slid out of her mouth, immediately using it to rub her clit roughly. He moved her up onto the sink and pushed her legs apart wider, sinking down to the ground with one hand around her waist, pulling her into his mouth and the other flat against her inner thigh, keeping her legs open to him. He teased her with the tip of his thumb that was closest to her throbbing pussy before finally beginning to lick her, gently at first and then rapidly, pressing his lips against her and expertly twirling his tongue around in all the right places. She battled the moans threatening to escape her lips, gripping at his hair, pushing him into her as she ground her hips against his tongue.

He got back to his feet, dragging his fingertips from the hand that was around her waist, down to her slit, sliding two fingers in as he gripped the back of her neck with the other hand. Her arms instinctively clung to his shoulders as her body jolted again, she wanted more, she _needed _more. He felt her hips rocking slightly into his thrusts as she bit and sucked his neck while he held her close, beginning to expertly pump his fingers in a "come hither" motion, hitting her g-spot perfectly.

Sydney was in absolute heaven. She'd known for quite some time that her needs were harder to satisfy, she needed the pain to counter the pleasure. Even before actually losing her virginity, she'd been almost as sexual and vulgar as she was now. After multiple failed escapades, she'd resorted to the preference of fucking herself, as it was the best sex she could find. Men didn't seem to know how to please her, and she had no interest in burning through them just to find one who could, but Tig was the first man in years that she didn't mind taking out on a test drive.

**Sydney fought the urge to roll her eyes as the man between her legs moaned while he ate her out, the fact that he was nowhere near her clit was apparently something he was completely oblivious to. She was trying to hold out, hoping that he was just drunk and would soon find his way, but the sounds of his moans over her silence pushed her to her breaking point. "Get out." She reached down and pushed his head away.**

"**W-what?" He asked in bewilderment.**

"**You heard me, get the fuck out of here." She said firmly in annoyance as she slid into some loose black shorts and a red tube top, storming out of the room before the offended man had time to protest. If Sydney was going to receive shitty sex, she at least wanted it to be from someone worth it, not from the lanky brown haired man that she'd swiped off the floor in an attempt to rattle the competition.**

**She hastily made her way down the hall, to the stairwell leading to the bar, her cloth covered flip flops lightly slapping against her feet. It was late - nearing 5:00am, there were only a few people passed out around the bar as it was a relatively calm Thursday night. **

**Happy had heard the door slam of the room next to his and the sound of his neighbour angrily stomping off to the main area of the clubhouse, but what he hadn't heard was anything to tell him what would've caused the outburst. He pushed the little brunette bitch off of him, her teeth scraping along his dick as he did so, making him growl. **_**Do no bitches around here know how to give a decent fucking blowjob. **_

"**What the fuck?" The newest sweetbutt exclaimed.**

"**Fuck off." Happy grunted, zipping up his fly and stalking out of his room to look for Sydney - apparently picking up a straggler as Yates followed him curiously.**

**Both men hastily descended the stairs, hitting the landing with a thud to see Sydney sitting on the bar top, kicking her legs back and forth while clutching a bottle of tequila. "What's with the fucking cavalry?" She scowled, noticing her and Happy's discarded bedmates close behind. **

**The man Sydney had stupidly decided to take a chance on, walked over to the bar and took a seat. She immediately raised a brow in offense and the audacity of this pussy. "Yeah, I didn't just mean get the fuck out of my bed. Get the fuck out of here." She gestured to the room around them. **

**The tall man was pissed and looked like he was about to stupidly put up a fight, not understanding why he should take orders from a club whore. **

"**You fucking heard her." Yates nodded, cutting the man off before he shuffled away - too embarrassed and likely too chicken shit to fight back with the patched member - Happy's sweetbutt following after him. **

**Happy creased a brow in question to the green eyed women but didn't get a response as she tipped the bottle back.**

"**You took him to bed?" He asked with a scowl after a few seconds of putting the pieces together. An 18 year old girl taking a man to bed wasn't something that would often confuse people, but Happy knew how selective Sydney was over who would find themselves between her legs. **

"**Yup, was quickly reminded why I don't do that." She took another swig.**

"**Yeah... Didn't hear anything." Happy smirked.**

"**Yeah why do you think I fucking kicked him out." She lifted her arm in frustration, giving Happy the opportunity to whisk the Tequila out of her grasp, unable help but laugh at the situation. **

"**What?" Sydney sneered in frustration. **

"**Funny how you run with men all day but you bring little boys around." **

**She smirked weakly. "If ya really think about it Hap… It aint funny at all." She said cryptically, knocking the Tequila bottle out of his hand and catching it in her own.**

**Happy lunged for her arm, ripping the tequila from her grip as his anger started to emerge. "Go to bed little girl." He ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.**

**Sydney chose instead to bat her eyelashes and paint a flirty smile across her lips. "Why, you gonna finish me off?" She leaned back, pushing her chest out and lifting her leg to brush against his. She grinned as she saw the familiar anger flash in his eyes as she pushed the buttons that she had all but worn out. **

**He pushed her knee down harshly, effectively freeing himself of her touch, pulling her off the bar top and spinning her around. "Go. Quit being a pain in my ass." **

"**One day you'll say yes to me Hap." She wagged her finger and shook her head slowly over her shoulder, being sure to swing her hips a little extra as she walked away.**

"**I don't know **_**how**_ **you say no, she's so fucking hot-" Yates began.**

"**Shut up." Happy cut off the starry eyed man, striding back to his room with the bottle of Tequila in hand.**

The feeling of stimulation on her g-spot from someone other than herself was a completely new feeling for Sydney, and the excitement of it being Tig was enough to have her nearing the edge. He could tell she was close by the way her muscles were starting to tighten around his fingers and her legs trembled as she had a black stiletto clad foot deeply embedded into the wall next to the sink.

"Tiggy I'm gonna-" She moaned breathlessly, feeling the hot tingling in her core as her orgasm approached. Tig pumped his fingers even faster, the sounds of her loud breaths giving him his own high. He moved his hand from her neck, to one of her breasts, caressing it gently, earning more gasps as he leaned into her neck. "Cum for me, beautiful." He breathed into her ear.

With that, Sydney let go, an orgasm stronger than anything she'd ever experienced crashed through her body. Moaning loudly, she felt waves of ecstasy pass over her as she threw her head back, her eyes following suit. Tig let her ride out her high, slowly pulling his fingers from her as her legs quivered, trailing them up her inner thigh, down the side to hook around her knee, easing the leg down from its hiked up position.

Before he could make his next move, she pushed him back with her fists balled in his shirt, feeling her sliding off the sink and knowing immediately what she was doing. He helped pull her down and without hesitation she dropped to her knees before him, tugging his pants down, not bothering with the zipper. Her eyes were filled to the brim with excitement when she made out the large shape of his hardening length, looking up at him and winking before pressing hot kisses over the fabric.

"Jesus baby." She heard him whimper as she traced her tongue along him, looking back up to meet his eyes as her finger traced along the inside of his waistband.

He stared down at her with his lip between his teeth, lightly caressing her face and running his fingers through her hair, pulling it back. She smiled and pulled his boxers down, her eyes widening in reaction when his full length was revealed. _Guess the dick really does match the ego._

He caught her reaction and smiled to himself proudly before she slowly licked a trail from base to tip, making his eyes flutter shut in pleasure, _finally_ experiencing what he had spent weeks dreaming of. He choked on a gasp as his eyes flew open in reaction to her wrapping her lips fully around him, grabbing her shoulder to steady himself. _That damn tongue ring. _He thought as he felt the jewelry intensify every flick of her tongue.

Her head moved up and down as she took his full length into the back of her throat, massaging the underside of his cock with her tongue as she kept her eyes trained on him. He watched her in awe, nearly naked with her cheeks hollowed and eyes glistening as he repeatedly bottomed out in her mouth, grinning in surprise when she didn't choke, just continued swallowing around him. His hands tightened around her hair as her expert ministrations continued and he moaned like a whore.

She finally pulled back, licking her lips gently before he hooked his fingers under her chin, gently bringing her to her feet and sloppily kissing her as saliva dripped down her chin. She tasted herself on his lips, meeting his stare as he broke the kiss before he turned her around to where she could see herself in the mirror.

She bit her lip as she examined her flustered state, eyeing the love bites that had formed on her neck and chest. Tig admired her body in awe of how perfect she was, catching her eye in the mirror and seeing the same hunger and lust that loomed within his own. "Never came like that before have you Princess?" His caring voice was laced with condescent as he whispered in her ear, moving her hair over her shoulder and gently nuzzling her neck.

Sydney knew her reaction had been a dead giveaway, the way he worked her body had her _literally_ shook to her core and it was impossible to hide. Her innocent eyes met his in the mirror, shaking her head slowly, bottom lip still between her teeth.

He chuckled. "Not as experienced as we make ourselves look are we."

"Not my fault no one knows how to fuck me properly." She snarked back, half defensively, half hoping it would spur him on.

Tig grabbed a fistful of white-blonde hair and yanked her closer with a snap of his wrist, smirking against the skin behind her ear. "Remember what I said about watching that mouth?" He taunted, his lips tickling her neck.

She threw her head back, letting him take control of her. "I'll show you how good you can feel baby, give you what you deserve." She moaned in approval, the dominant demeanour setting her off. _She_ was used to being the one who did the intimidating - she wanted to be forced into submission, put in her place, and that's exactly what Tig Trager was doing to her.

He pulled her hips towards him, bending her over as he pulled her panties down and let them fall around her ankles. Unable to wait anymore, he grabbed his cock and circled the tip against her entrance, both of them immediately shuddering at the sensation.

He hummed as he caressed one of her ass cheeks. "So wet for me." He couldn't help the immense satisfaction he felt when he found _her_ dripping wet for _him_. "Spoiled little Princess getting what she wants." He could tell she enjoyed the dirty talk, the dominance, and he couldn't be happier.

Any other time, Sydney might have been embarrassed by just how eager her body was making her out to be, but with Tig - as everything else, it somehow worked perfectly. Keeping the kinky game lively as she refused to verbally submit to him, but surrendered physically.

"You want this too." She moaned out, arching her back, pushing back into him slightly. He smirked.

"From the very first time I met you." He admitted, entering her slowly. "Fuck… Syd." He grunted, allowing his head to fall back as he entered the tightest pussy he'd ever felt, she was definitely no croweater...

Sydney smirked devilishly at her reflection in the mirror as she watched his eyes slip closed, his grip on her hips tightening before a breathless scream slipped out of her as he went deeper, he was _big_, filling her completely. He stilled his movements, letting her adjust as she forced her muscles to relax. It had been years since she liked a man enough to let him inside of her but luckily, with how badly she wanted Tig, her wetness eased any discomfort that her unaccustomed body may have felt.

Tig pulled back slowly before he entered her again, her back arching even more, unable to take the suspense. He smiled in approval of her submission and mutual need for him, pulling her hips and pushing himself further into her, making her gasp. He retracted yet again, hearing her whine as he left her. He chuckled slightly, pushing back into her, leaving her breathless this time as he groaned at the sensation of her tightness around his cock, tight enough that he felt like he could actually rip her.

He moved his hands from her hips, to lace with hers, taking them from where they had been white-knuckle clutching the edge of the sink. She felt her heart flutter as the moans left her lips while he began to slap against her, they'd had weeks of foreplay and frustration - neither of them wanted it slow.

She could feel a divine aching in her stomach and the juices running down her thighs as he fucked her. She arched her back again, straightening up as much as she could and brought a knee up to rest on the sink, wanting to be as close to him as possible, allowing him to penetrate her even deeper. The new angle had her practically screaming, she lifted one of her hands out of his instinctively to cover her mouth, which he quickly slapped away, retaking it in his. "Don't even think about it sweetheart. Let me hear you. Let _them _hear you." He growled.

She smirked at his cock response and then gasped again when he began hitting her g-spot perfectly, still sensitive from her first orgasm. Her eyes closed involuntarily as she was bombarded with pleasure, she could feel every emotion and unspoken tryst in the way he fucked her - the frustration he had over them both being too stubborn to admit their feelings, the anger over her making him look like a pussy, the satisfaction of finally having her, and the desire for more.

His hand left hers, smoothing around her side, up her stomach, over a breast, eventually landing on her neck and wrapping gently around her throat. Tig shivered as he felt her tighten around him in reaction to the proposal of being choked, smirking while he stared at the mirror into the sexiest, deviant look he had ever seen in another's eyes.

He applied the perfect amount of pressure around her throat: enough that she could still breathe, but not easily. He could feel the vibrations of her moans in her throat against his hand, causing him to fuck her even harder, hoping to get her to cum soon as her increasing tightness from the excitement was threatening to peak his arousal. He moved the other hand around to her clit, circling it with his fingers while his strong arms remained completely wrapped around her.

"Fuck." She squealed at the double sensation, her mouth hanging open, feeling her spring coiling much tighter and tighter.

Juice was walking down the hallway when he heard the unmistakable noises coming from the bathroom. He knew Sydney and Tig had gone off somewhere together but he assumed it was back to her house or for a ride, or whatever the fuck it was that the two of them were always off doing together, since according to Sydney, it 'wasn't fucking'. But the sounds coming from the bathroom definitely weren't the sounds that two people who 'weren't fucking' would make. He bolted down the hall to Tig's room, finding it empty, racing out to the parking lot, pushing through the people crowding the path to the door. Jax scowled at Chibs and Bobby as he watched Juice in his haste. "The fuck's he doin?" He nodded to the giddy young kid, the other men just shrugged.

Juice quickly spotted Sydney's car in the lot along with Tig's bike, grinning huge in victory and excitement as he raced back inside to share his discovery with his brothers. "Dude!" He breathed out, exasperated when he reached the bar. "They're fucking in the bathroom." The men exchanged scowls, wondering what Juice was on about. "Tig, and Sydney." He struggled to catch his breath.

Bobby smirked and raised a brow, as did Chibs while Jax grinned. A grunt came from beside Juice from a _very_ displeased Happy. He had rage in his eyes and his chest was heaving but he remained as calm as a pissed off Happy Lowman could be, knowing there was nothing he could do about it.

Juice widened his eyes in mockery to his brothers after Happy grabbed the nearest croweater and made his way outside. "Anyone else notice that _all_ of his whores look like her?" He pointed out as the angry man dragged the blonde towards the door.

"I hope to the mothering Gods they're fuckin, I can't stand to watch them any goddamn longer." Chibs groaned.

"Watching them gives me blue balls man." Juice agreed.

"C'mon… there's no way they haven't been fucking this whole time. It's _Tig. _With _her. _You tellin me you'd be spending nights with her in your bed and not fucking her? I call bullshit." Jax sneered.

"Hap says he's done it." Bobby countered.

"Well, why would they lie about it?" Juice questioned.

"The other day, Tig said she looked good in whatever the fuck she was wearing and she said she would look better on his dick. Girls don't say that shit, especially not to someone they aren't fucking"

"She's not like most girls. Maybe that's why she says shit like that, because they really aren't." Juice surmised.

"She just likes fuckin with him." Bobby groaned. "My favorite one? She asked what he wanted for dinner the other day, before he could answer she said he could just eat her for dinner and fucked off, leavin him there like a deer in the headlights."

"Oh! Or when she was on his shoulders after dancing on the bar and she complained that he had her facing the wrong way." Juice contributed in sharing the wild things Sydney would say to proposition the usually sex-crazed Sergeant.

"Why pick him over someone like Jackie boy here?"

"Princess' just like Tig. They're shit disturbers, love to freak people out and confuse em." Bobby clarified.

This is was what real sex was like... The crows had made Tig forget how much better things were with a _real _girl. Sydney wasn't screaming some godforsaken moans to try and satisfy him, her moans were all natural, showing him how much she enjoyed it. He had also forgotten that sex with a real girl was more than her sitting there taking it, Sydney's body responded perfectly to his as she rolled her hips to meet his thrusts, and gazed upon him with lust

He felt her walls clenching around him, bringing him closer to his release as he squeezed her throat a little tighter. "You gonna cum for me again doll?" His goatee tickled against her neck, his hot breath making the hairs on the back of it stand up, gripping at his hand between her legs to get him to stop. "Huh? You gonna cum all over my cock?"

"You gonna make me?" She bit back between pants with grit teeth.

He growled at the challenge, rubbing faster and faster until the sensations and his gruff words all at once sent her crashing over the edge yet again. His grip on her throat let up and he grabbed her hand as he felt her meet her release, but his pounding didn't. Her gasping and heavy breathing continued as she moaned and twitched around him, which was all he needed. Thrusting into her a few more times before unloading his heat, biting into her shoulder with a groan. He came down slowly, their breaths mingling as he rested his head on her back for a minute or so, still holding her hand. He pushed off of her back lightly to stand, she gripped the sink to keep her balance as she trembled.

He chuckled. "Church must've gone well."

"You missed a good show." She smirked, turning her head to face him.

He cocked his head and looked her up and down. "Darlin." He scoffed. "I just got one."

Tig dressed himself as Sydney stared at the ceiling, still coming down from her high. He grabbed her hips gently - turning her to face him, pulling a bandana out of the back pocket of his jeans, using it to gently clean between her legs as she leaned back against the sink, giving him access.

She was flooded with mixed emotions. This was the best sex she'd ever had - rough, passionate, but also somehow sweet. All she could do was look at him up at him innocently, eyes twinkling. When he met her eyes, he tangled his fingers in her hair, dragging her lips to his for a sweet embrace. She could still feel the sparks flying as he kissed her and she blushed as he pulled away after seeing his blue eyes full of adoration, confirming her suspicion that it was not just sexual tension between the two of them. Next he handed Sydney her discarded clothing, she began to put her bra on, slipping both arms through the straps, turning towards the mirror and reaching behind to hook it when Tig took over, placing his hands around hers and hooking it for her.

Sydney snickered. "I guess you _are _a gentleman." He chuckled, not meeting her eyes. All she could do was smile lightly, looking at him in the mirror with something in her eyes that she didn't recognize, something more than lust... Looking over her shoulder and onto the ground, she noticed her panties lying around her right stiletto. Her deviant side took over once again, smirking to herself.

She was still facing the mirror when Tig finished straightening out his shirt, looking up at her in the reflection, finding himself staring face to face with that evil smile. She slowly drew her foot back, stiletto nearing her ass when he noticed her panties hanging off of the 4 inch heel. She brought her foot up to the hand that was dangling by her side, slowly plucking the underwear off of its makeshift hook. She sauntered over to him, stepping just past him so that he couldn't see her in his peripherals unless he turned his head slightly. Tig had a blank stare but his eyes were still lusty looking down at her as her lips curled.

"Thanks for the tune up." She said in a sultry voice and winked as she gently tucked her panties into the back pocket of his jeans, her little deviant smile turned into a full blown, cocky grin, biting her lip to suppress her excitement and maintain the illusion. She held eye contact, turning her head as she walked towards the bathroom door and back out to the party.

He watched her longingly, staying in the same position, paralyzed with admiration as he wondered how it was possible that even after _he _had shown _her_ around the block, _she _managed to leave _him_ feeling like the inexperienced one.

Tig Trager had met his match.

* * *

**The moment we've all been waiting for 😱 P.S. The tool she was going to fuck in San Bernardino is modelled after my ex boyfriend :))**

_**Song for this chapter**_

_**High For This - Weekend**_


	7. Lady Of The Night

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 7: LADY OF THE NIGHT**

Sydney awoke to her heart pounding out of her chest before she rolled over to check her phone that had buzzed with a text, which she assumed is what had coaxed her out of her sleep. The clock read 3:29 A.M., and the text was from Clay informing everyone that church was to start at 2:00 P.M. She felt a small rush of excitement, reminding her of her successful church session and even more successful night with Tig.

She was hooked. The feeling of his skin on hers, his dominance, the way he adored her... She'd fought with everything in her not to stay at the clubhouse after what had happened - spend the whole night the way that she'd spent the evening, and now she was fighting the urge all over again. She was in strange territory, she knew he felt the same way that she did, but the stubborn bitch in her, forced her to maintain her mysterious illusion.

She'd stumbled out of the bar completely sober, walking side to side after the pounding she'd gotten, silently thanking God that she had previously been drinking and able to appear drunk, although she didn't miss the incredibly discerning stares that she got from Jax and Bobby before they sent Half-Sack out behind her, trying to take her keys before she finally convinced him that she was fine. The innocent kid eventually caught on to what had happened, eyeing the hickey on her neck and looking even more embarrassed than she did. Sydney giggled to herself at the memory of him turning red as he looked between her and the clubhouse before running off, the blissful memory drifting her back off to sleep.

Tig was still awake as his mind danced with the thoughts of his evening. This was the best sex he'd ever had: _rewarding, validating. _The chemistry they had, the way their bodies fed off each other had him absolutely mind blown. He had thought about fucking her hundreds of times, but the anticipation and feelings between them had made it hard for him to picture it _actually_ happening. All he knew was that she had exceeded his expectations tenfold. She was a perfect adaptation of his dream lover: Kinky but submissive, sweet but sexy, innocent but evil.

His phone buzzed with the same text from Clay, flipping it open and disregarding the message as he scrolled through the address book, hovered over her name in contemplation. _She must be asleep._ He made excuses, knowing full well that they had spent numerous late nights/early mornings together since she arrived. In reality, Tig was just unsure how to navigate around the uncharted territory, he had never been in this position before, even as a man in his 40s. The only thing that kept him from thinking this was all a dream, was the fact that he had yet to fall asleep.

Sydney woke peacefully this time to the sun shining through her window. She loved that the master bedroom in her house was facing east, so she could rise with the sun. The peacefulness was short lived as her stomach flipped once she gained consciousness. She was happy and anxious and excited and nervous all at the same time, _what was going to happen now?_ She laid in bed for a while thinking, trying to relax before finally peeling back the covers and padding towards the bathroom for a shower. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly when she saw the marks that Tig had left on her body. A large, dark hickey on the left side of her neck, some smaller ones on her left breast around her tattoo, and small red marks on her hips where his fingers had been.

Though it had been _some _time, Sydney was no foreigner to sex. What she was a foreigner to? Was sex like that. Sex with such passion and need. She smiled to herself as she looked down, blushing scarlet before jumping in the shower. He definitely wasn't wrong about what he'd told her after the wedding, he fucked her and her body _knew. _She could still feel the way he worshipped her with a slight aching in her lower abdomen which only made her more excited, a constant reminder of why she felt the pain.

Tig had never in his life woken up after a conquest and thought about it twice, but he couldn't get Sydney out of his mind. The thought of her had driven him almost as mad as the sight of her naked body did. He got up eagerly, dressing for the day and walking to the kitchen at the back of the clubhouse for some coffee when Gemma walked in.

"Mornin." Gemma was the type of woman whose tone could tell you exactly what she was thinking without having to see her expression, but her famous raised brow and pursed lips told Tig that he was completely busted before he could even try to plead his case. They hadn't exactly tried to hide what happened, but they hadn't exactly thought it was all that obvious either.

"What?" He chuckled, remaining casual as he wasn't ready to give up quite yet.

"Heard you had a good night last night." Gemma walked over, brushing her fingers against the hickey on his neck before snorting and lightly slapping it.

"Yeah, crow was crazy." He winked.

She raised her brow even higher. "Yeah." She scoffed, knowing it was no crow. "This... _crow_. Doesn't have anything to do with Clay telling me how Sydney stumbled outta here last night after convincing the prospect that she was good to drive, once she came out of the bathroom with you, does it?"

"Oh, nah Gem. She was just drunk, I was holdin her hair." His voice was full of care in an attempt to prove his innocence.

"Not like the Tig I know to be such a gentleman." She mocked.

"Just tryna keep the princess happy. Bosses orders."

"You could've at least asked her to stay."

"Shit... " He shook his head, backing down. "You think so?" He knew he could trust Gemma, she was one of the only people that he allowed to see his soft side.

She chuckled with a smile. "Don't worry Tigger, something tells me you'll have many more chances." She walked out of the kitchen leaving Tig alone, giddy as a school girl.

Sydney dressed herself in black ripped jeans, a grey loose tank top that exposed parts of her black strappy bralette, and black mules before heading off to the clubhouse with her hair in messy waves in a weak effort to at least somewhat conceal her hickey.

Clay had arranged to meet Darby at a coffee shop in Pope that morning to press him about dealing in Charming. He was taking a risk going alone, but Darby was the least of his problems right now. Plus, he had a plan that he knew some of his crew wouldn't go for.

"Been a while, wanted to make sure you didn't forget about our agreement." He greeted the Nord shot caller.

"I kept Opie safe the entire time we were in Chino." Darby defended, unsure why the MC President was grilling him.

"Oh I remember how it works inside. Question is, do you remember how it works outside?"

"A lot changes in three years Clay."

"A lot stays the same… Nothing happens in Charming that we don't control, or get a piece of…" His cryptic words told the balding man that SAMCRO had already caught onto the fact that he was cooking again. "See you got some new ink in the joint." He nodded to the swastika tattoo in the centre of Darby's chest.

"Subtle but it says it." Clay chuckled. "I'm dealin in Pope. Your precious little town ain't on my shit list."

"Good to hear. Why don't you uh, make your way down to my clubhouse later. Convince my guys you aint dealin here. Do me this favour, we'll consider this trucking issue off the table."

"What do you care about the trucker?" Darby contorted his face in confusion.

"Well you see, the Sons of Anarchy protect a local company known as Unser trucking. Coincidentally the same trucking company owned by Police Chief Wayne Unser, and the driver that you almost killed." Clay grinned. "Your crank in the truck has caused the chief to... Question our abilities. If I can show my guys that you aint dealin in Charming, then we don't have to destroy your entire operation."

"You think I'm just gonna pull up to your clubhouse with a death wish?"

"I'll consider it an act of good faith. Got a tight little San Bernardino prize there for ya as a thank you, I know you got a thing for the blondes with blue eyes."

Darbys eyes flickered. "Fine." He sneered, getting up out of the booth.

"2:15, see you there." Clay called after him.

Sydney pulled up to the clubhouse at 1:55 P.M. She was so nervous, wanting to leave as little time to be grilled by the guys as possible before church. She'd dealt with the hassling for weeks, but it was another thing when the hassling was substanced and her nerves still hadn't settled from the incident itself.

She walked into the clubhouse, hurrying over to Gemma at the bar. "Hey sweetheart, heard your first church went well." The older woman smirked.

"I think I showed them who's boss." She smirked.

"Looks like someone showed you who's boss too." She used the arm of her sunglasses to push Sydney's hair out of the way, revealing her hickey and making her go white before the two women started laughing.

"That's me" Sydney announced when Clay walked in, fluffing her hair back in place and walking towards the chapel where Tig was waiting among his brothers which meant she didn't have to worry about a potentially awkward encounter. His eyes lit up when she walked in, but he quickly turned away.

A few minutes after the chapel doors closed, Darby walked in. Gemma was confused, ready to cause a scene when she remembered that the Nords were at peace with the Sons, at least that's what paper showed for now...

"Hi Ernie." She said seductively.

"Gemma... Wow… How's the beautiful queen of bikers?"

"Holdin' it together. Whadda ya doin here?"

"Favour for Clay. Damn Gem... You look real good. Clay keeping you happy?"

Gemma smirked as the man she had known for many years let it show that he had never gotten over his fixation with her. "He does the best he can. Interesting new accessory you have there." She used her sunglasses now to now pull the neckline of his shirt down, exposing his tattoo.

"Picked it up on my little retreat in Chino."

"Bet the Jewish doctors keeping your mom alive love that." She mused, narrowing her eyes.

Darby's eyes glinted, forgetting just how powerful Gemma's allure was. "That's right, you got a little Jew in you too don't you?"

"A bit, on the angry Russian side." Gemma smirked before her phone began buzzing with a text from Clay asking her to head home and get started on dinner. She knew something was up but she knew better than to ask questions - right away at least. "It was nice talking to ya Ernie." She grabbed the man a beer, hoping to keep him occupied in her absence before whatever Clay had planned could get underway. "Gotta run and catch my train back to Auschwitz." She winked.

Church had began and so far all Sydney had gotten were a couple of scowls and smirks from the bikers around the table which she was more than happy to accept. A new face joined the meeting, a face that she only recognized from the wedding: Piney Winston - Opie Winton's father who she'd heard about him from Gemma and a few others.

She knew that Opie recently got out of a five year stint for the club which had made him pull back, trying to take care of his family and rekindle his marriage. Piney on the other hand was one of the first nine and from what Sydney had gathered, was a crazy old fuck complete with an oxygen tank and an alcohol problem who pretty much did as he pleased as long as it didn't cause trouble. He had politely introduced himself to her, gave condolences for her father and told her about the many times they had worked together, giving her the impression that Clay privied him on club business regularly.

Clay began explaining the situation with Unser's truck driver as Sydney nodded off, thinking about Tig but managing to keep her eyes locked on Clay. "Met with Darby, says he's only dealing in Pope."

"And you believe him?" Piney protested.

"Yeah, we do." Jax replied sincerely, his defense taking Clay a little by surprise but he nodded and continued.

"Unser's coming by later. His driver's gonna live but he's gonna need a friendly reminder that this is an isolated incident and it doesn't affect our deal."

"You got it man" Tig nodded.

"We need to start thinking about our little Mexican problem." Clay's voice brought Sydney back to earth.

"I say we retaliate at equals. Hopefully find our guns and torch their facility so we ain't got an angry black man on our hands." Jax suggested.

"It's been weeks since the explosion, by now they're thinking that they got away with it - dropping the extra precautions and security they would've had. Perfect time to move in." Tigs eyes sparkled as Sydney spoke, her tone all business as she dove into her 'club associate' role, headfirst.

"Juice, start hacking into crime databases, get addresses of any Mayans in the system. I want surveillance on em til we find out where their warehouse is and what their security's like." Clay ordered

"On it."

"Alvarez's got the local cops on the payroll." Chibs added.

"Which makes them lazy, don't try too hard to cover their tracks."

"They wouldn't take a chance housing the AK's at the cut shops, knows we'd be onto those." Tig shook his head.

"Gotta be someplace off the grid. Pull together all the intel we got on the Mayans." Clay's final request ended the session.

Sydney was the first to get up to leave when she heard Tig's voice. "Damn princess... You know, I heard last night's show was better." He teased.

"I think ye got a good enough show last night." Chibs hollered. Sydney and Tig's faces both went white, then red as the entire table turned to look at her.

She raised an eyebrow, shooting Chibs a theatrical challenging face but her rosy cheeks gave her away as she could feel her face getting hotter by the second which made Tig's face loosen a bit in amusement.

"That why you stumbled outta here last night?" Clay teased but had the opposite effect when Sydney's ego took over.

"Drunk." She stated.

"And you drove home?" Jax challenged.

"Talented." She said coyly with a tilt of her head.

"And your neck?" Chibs added smirking.

"Curling iron." She shrugged with her lips curling up.

"You got an excuse thought out for everything don't ya Princess?" Clay mused.

"Of course." She said cockily, making him snicker.

"Did he burn his neck with a curling iron too?" Juice yelled across the table, pointing at Tig.

"You thought this was natural brother?" He pointed to his hair, making everyone laugh.

"You think fuckin him is gonna get you special treatment around here?" The room fell silent as Clay's accusations stopped Sydney from leaving once again. Tig shot his President a glare, letting him know he was going too far.

"Well, it would just be an added bonus." She smirked as Tig looked back to her in shock. "Besides, your Sergeant gives me all of the _special treatment_ I need." She spoke seductively, giving Tig a dramatic once over.

His eyes returned to Clay with shock on his face as she smiled devilishly and headed out of the chapel when the whistling and hollering started. She started walking to the bar as she saw a tall, balding man sitting there. His face was quite jolly and sweet looking, but she knew exactly who this man was. This was Ernest Darby.

Jax was the first to follow Sydney out the door, stopping when he saw Darby, whipping back to Clay who was right behind him. "What the hell is he doing here." Clay put his arm up, signalling for everyone to hang back.

"Giving him a welcome home present." He said with a devilish grin.

Sydney continued towards the door, acting as if she had no idea who the man was. She knew something had to be up, so she smiled politely at Darby, almost making it past him when he reached out to stop her with one hand on her waist and the other on her bicep.

"Eh, not so fast sweetheart."

"Who the hell are you?" Sydney asked, playing dumb. She wasn't exactly sure what angle Clay was working here, but she knew there was a reason that the guys were hanging back in the chapel, and that Darby dared step foot in their clubhouse.

"I can be anyone you want me to be." He reached up to stroke her hair. She pushed him away and winced, keeping up the act.

"No thanks." Her tone was that of pure disgust.

Tig puffed out his chest and tried to get past Clay as everyone watched the encounter unfold - confused and angry. "What the hell man."

"Just. Wait." Clay sneered.

"You don't gotta play hard to get." Darby reached out for her again.

"I'm not playing at anything." She said as she stepped back, turning her head to glance towards the chapel but it was stopped by Darby's hands pulling her face to look at him.

"Don't worry sweetheart, your President said you were allowed to spend some time with me."

It clicked. Darby thought she was a croweater. Clay must've used her to get him here, knowing what would happen if he tried to make a move on her, explaining why he was so calm in church and willing to forget about the trucking situation. Clay knew Sydney would give him the warning he needed.

"Oh." She changed her demeanour, lowering her voice, dropping her hip and softening her expression. She reached up to grab his hands with hers, stroking them gently. "Sorry about that love, let me grab you another beer." She spoke, leaning into his mouth as he released his grip, slowly sliding her hands off of his and grabbing his empty bottle.

"What the hell is she doing?" Jax pressed, the anger building in him as well as his President kept him in the dark.

"Exactly what I knew she would." Clay beamed proudly.

"I thought we said she wasn't a piece of ass to pass around." The VP challenged.

"She's not." Tig snarled, beginning to push past them but being stopped by a loud smash. Everyone stopped, bringing their immediate attention to the source of the commotion to find Sydney pinning Darby against the bar with the broken beer bottle to his neck, holding him by his shirt collar.

"Now, Mr. Darby." She cooed sweetly. "Didn't mommy ever teach you how to talk to a lady?" He was stunned, scared, and pained from the bottle he'd taken to the side of the head, but tried not to show it.

"You aint no lady, you're just a little biker slu-."

"Ah-ah." She pressed the large point of the broken glass against his skin. "That's where you're wrong, sweetheart." She sneered, letting the bottle neck fall in her fingers, the point going from his neck down to his chest as she lightly traced his swastika tattoo with the makeshift blade. Looking up into his eyes, she pressed it into his skin, cutting a deep gash as she spoke, "I'm no crow." She had a look of murder in her eyes as they went black. He hissed in pain as she released the glass from his skin. "You ever try to push up on me again." Whispering close to his ear in the same low tone, just barely brushing her lips against his skin as she moved her head down to the bleeding cut where she ran her tongue across it.

The man was in utter dismay when she looked up at him, her murderous stare only intensifying with the taste of his blood. "I'll kill ya. Got it?" She said softly and seductively, cocking an eyebrow and spreading a toothy, terrifying grin.

He nodded, to which Sydney released his shirt collar before he ran out of the bar. She turned to see all the leather clad men standing frozen with their jaws on the floor - a look that she was getting quite fond of seeing. "I hope he wasn't a regular." She shrugged casually, walking behind the bar to grab a mop and broom.

"Holy shit... She really is just as twisted as you" Juice exclaimed, looking at Tig, who couldn't hide his shock... Or erection as he stood wide eyed with his hand on his crotch.

Clay threw Jax an "I told you so" stare before making off to give the young girl his praise. "Exactly what I hoped you would do princess." The President bellowed with a grin, it was the happiest that Sydney had seen him since she arrived.

Sydney watched as Tig slipped into his dorm without saying a word. She wasn't doubting his feelings, she could tell that last night was just as ground shaking for him as it was for her. Between that and what just transpired, he didn't know how to take it.

"You tell her to do that?" Jax asked Clay as the stood at the pool table alone after the bar had mostly cleared out.

"Nah."

"You tell her who Darby was?"

"Nope."

"So you're tellin me that she figured all that out on her own - who he was, why he was here, what you wanted her to do."

"I told you not to underestimate her... _Son_." Clay sneered.

"Told you yesterday VP, I did my own recon." Sydney called from across the bar.

Jax whipped his head towards her voice, surprised that she had heard him and that she'd had the ball to interrupt a private conversation between the two highest ranked members in the club.

"Why don't you stay out of conversations you weren't invited to, like the rest of the women."

"Why don't you learn to lower your goddamn voice when you're talking about somebody ten feet away from you." She retorted calmly as she made her way over to him.

The blonde man backed up against the pool table but she didn't stop until her body was pressed completely against his. "I know your big boy balls are having a hard time grasping this concept Jackson but-" Her gaze shifted from his pulse to his eyes. "I'm not like the rest of the women. It would be smart of you to start realizing that." Her voice was eerily calm before she turned back to the broken glass that she had been cleaning from the floor, being sure to whip him in the face with her hair, earning a sly smirk from Clay.

The white haired man approached Sydney as she was crouched down with a broom and dustpan in hand, motioning for Half-Sack to take over the clean up. "Between Jax and what I just saw back there, I might have to consider you as my new VP." The two chuckled.

"Oh I'm just doing my job Pres... But I'd be happy to take that rocker." She winked as he shook his head with a laugh.

Sydney hung around the clubhouse while they waited on Chief Unser, shooting pool with Bobby while Juice and Clay got to work pulling surveillance on the Mayans.

Juice packed up his laptop, about to head out to start tracking down their warehouse when Sydney piped up. "I'm coming." She said with an innocent smile.

"Uhhhhh." Juice stammered, glancing at Clay for back up against the persistent blonde.

"Mayans don't know who she is, she blends in. Plus, you'll have some backup" Clay said through a grin. "Have her back by 6:00 Juicey." He winked. Sydney's sweet smile widened as she got her way, pleased with the way that she was successfully winning over the President.

Tig inhaled sharply from the garage, watching Juice and Sydney walk around the building as she did cartwheels. The two of them walked over to the grey Savannah parked behind TM. Clearly their designated job vehicle, big enough to transport their guns as well as harbour the entire crew.

"Not bad." Sydney said out loud.

Juice acted like he hadn't heard her, too nervous to ask what she meant. "You gonna wear those?" He scowled and pointed at her feet.

"Yeah? What's wrong with em?" Sydney asked genuinely as she looked down to examine her Steve Maddens.

"Oh nothing! I mean..."

"Juice, we're friends. Spit it out." She laughed as a sense of relief seemed to appear over his face.

"I just mean like in case something goes wrong and we have to run."

"Well _I'm_ not gonna have to run, but you might." She shrugged with a smirk, walking over to the passenger side. "Can we get something to eat on the way? I'm starving."

"What, your knight in shoe polished leather didn't bring you your morning donuts?" Juice joked. Sydney actually laughed out loud at his comment before rolling her eyes.

The drive to Oakland began and there were a couple minutes of awkward silence before Juice finally worked up the courage. "Sydney, if we're friends, can I ask you something?" She knew what he was about to ask, sighing. She decided if she was going to be grilled about Tig, she may as well use it to her advantage.

"Shot for shot, Ortiz." He nodded, accepting the challenge.

"What the hell's going on with you and him? It's freakin me out."

"If only I knew the answers to those questions, Juicey." She said longingly while looking out the window.

"I mean… We all figured you would hook up with a member but… Not him."

She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Who then? Bobby?"

He laughed. "Maybe Jax… Maybe..."

"Maybe you?" She prodded, finishing his sentence as he stiffened.

"You're avoiding the question." He brought the attention back to her.

She chortled before he dramatically turned his head to the side to stare at her, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, okay." She snapped playfully. "I don't know what happens next. But it's public knowledge that I'm into him." The corners of his mouth turned up at her admission. "And if you fucking tell anyone that we had this conversation I will not hesitate to slice your tats in half too."

Juice gulped, looking up towards the tribal tattoos on either side of his head. "Copy that… Your turn."

"What do you take this shit with us for?"

"You serious bout him?" She nodded cautiously. "Crows have been asking if you're his old lady, doesn't really pay them any attention anymore." She couldn't help the smile that formed from the butterflies in her stomach. Juice laughed and shook his head, laughing harder when she hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Now shut up and get me my donuts."

Forty minutes later, Sydney and Juice were parked a block down from the Mayans clubhouse - the row of ape hangared Softails along the curb was a telltale sign that they had a full table.

"Would be real easy to just throw a grenade in there and eliminate all of our Mexican problems right now, wouldn't it." Sydney said dreamily, gritting her teeth and looking through binoculars, turning to see a horrified Juice.

"Jesus Christ." Her lips curled into an evil smile as she turned away. The doors opened and men wearing Mayans kuttes poured out. "Shit – get down." Juice said.

Sydney shot him a scowl as she winced. "_You_ get down, _I _don't have to get down." She scoffed. "I'm just a lady of the night, driving around in her handjob mobile." Juice looked confused before she yanked him by the kutte and made him switch seats with her.

He slowly creeped up to peer over the dash. "Which ones do we follow?" Juice asked.

"When Clay needed a routine at the warehouse, who did he send?"

"Me, prospects, Chibs sometimes."

"Then we follow them." She snarled, putting the van into gear as she nodded to the group separating from their President, her jab at Juice going right over his head.

After ten minutes of carefully tailing the Mayan's, they were led to an industrial area near the rail line in San Leandro. Juice was using the GPS on his laptop to guide Sydney in order to avoid directly crossing their paths with their enemy when suddenly the signal crashed.

"Shit."

"What?" Sydney asked with a trace of worry in her voice.

"GPS died."

"Shit Juice, they're gonna catch onto us." Not paying attention, Sydney looked up as half of the Mayans took a sharp right into the warehouse gates - a dead end straight ahead, while the other half stopped and looked at their van. "Fuck… Get in the back and lay down, now." She kept her eyes on the road while frantically searching the glove compartment for a map. Her hand brushed against a gun and a pair of leather gloves which made her chuckle slightly, pulling the safety tab and tucking the gun under her leg - just in case.

Just as she neared the two men, she found a crinkled map folded under a stack of expired insurance slips and owners manuals - ripping it open and beginning to make herself hyperventilate as she brought the van to a slow stop.

Two mexican men scoped out the suspicious vehicle with an unexpected driver. "Oh my god, thank the lord I found you." Sydney exclaimed in a valley girl accent, making tears spill from her eyes. "Can you boys help me? I'm so lost and my boss was just in an accident. I need to get to Kaiser Medical Center." She spat out between her gasps for air, worry filling her eyes.

The men looked to each other skeptically, but once they got a good look at her cleavage, they pointed her in the right direction. "Thank you boys so much, I promise I'll come back and return the favour." She added suggestively, making them raise their eyebrows excitedly at each other before walking off.

She pulled a gentle u-turn and started back towards the highway. "We're good." She called back to Juice.

"Holy shit… We should've had a girl on the crew years ago!" He exclaimed in awe.

"That's what I've been tellin ya Juicey, now put this shit back." She laughed, shoving the gun and map into his chest.

It was 5:40 P.M. when Sydney pulled the van back around TM. "Now, you bring Clay that address." She instructed Juice with a narrowed gaze. He thanked her not only verbally, but with the depth in his eyes, for letting him take credit for this victory.

The two walked in together, beaming as Juice held up the napkin with the address and presented it to Clay, Tig, Bobby, and Chibs.

"Tracked some of Alvarez's half bright prospects." Juice said, producing the napkin on the table.

"Ran the address. Looks like a dummy Corp."

"Good work kids." Clay grinned.

Tig craned his head around to look closer at Sydney, concern washing over his face as he walked around the table. He kept the same expression as he approached her, cupping her face as he rubbed his thumb under her eye. "You been cryin, babygirl?" _Goddammit Juic_e, leave it to him not to tell her that her makeup was running.

"Oh! No. I'm fine, it's nothing." Clay turned around to face her, his eyes pressing her for the truth.

"Lass." Chibs said with concern, Tig not letting up on his grip either.

Sydney gave Juice an apologetic glance, to which he nodded. "We had an issue with the GPS while we were following them to the warehouse, they spotted the van. Pretended I was just another dumb blonde needing directions, got the waterworks going so they wouldn't want anything to do with me." Tig broke into a proud smile and Clay glanced over at Juice.

"That what happened?"

"Yup." Juice nodded, taking the stance of a soldier - shoulders back and hands cupped in front of him.

"Thinkin on your feet, good job Princess." Clay nodded in approval.

Sydney forced a smile, feeling Tig pull her in closer before she felt his lips on her forehead. Chibs choked on his beer while Clay scowled, and Bobby raised his eyebrows at the awkward display.

She started to smile genuinely but immediately snapped out of it. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up." She uttered out, heading off to the bathroom, Tig watching her walk away.

"You gonna follow her back there again?" Bobby joked.

"Thinkin about it." Tig blinked as they all chuckled.

It'd been ten minutes since Sydney started blushing when Tig kissed her forehead and she hadn't stopped. Being in the bathroom vividly reminded her of him defiling her against the sink the night before, which wasn't exactly helping her cause. She could even see the scuff mark on the wall where her stiletto had been resting. She couldn't help glancing at the door, hoping he would slip through it like he did last night...

She fluffed her hair and started for the door, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she swung it open, getting one foot out when she ran directly into a leather wall. She looked up to see the piercing blue eyes as Tig leant against the doorframe, smirking down at her.

"Waitin for me doll?"

"Maybe." She teased as she cocked a brow, looking up into his eyes and lifting her lips towards his.

He leaned down to meet her halfway. Just before they made contact, she swiftly ducked under his arm and proceeded down the hallway. He hesitated momentarily before giving in to his conscience, grabbing her arm and lightly pulling her back to him.

"You sure everything's okay?"

"What's it to ya?" She glanced up at him through her eyelashes. He looked concerned, crinkling his eyebrows.

"What d'ya mean?"

"Been ignoring me all day." She forced the corners of her mouth to stay in place, fighting her mischievous smirk.

"I care about you." He stated, cursing himself for giving her the wrong impression by not knowing how to move forward

"You makin me a habit?"

"You're mine." He said by way of an answer, staring deep into her eyes with sincerity.

She cocked her head. "Roger that." Her green eyes were consumed by flames when the words left her mouth in a rasp. She leaned in and kissed him hard, running her tongue across his upper lip before sinking her teeth gently into his lower one, pulling back and letting go. "Sergeant." She cocked a brow and turned down the hall.

He released his grip and watched her walk away in disbelief before he pulled himself together and stalked out of the hallway to see her standing behind the bar. "One more thing Ms. Dahmer." Sydney chuckled. "Mind telling me what the hell that was with Darby?" His squinted blue eyes twinkled.

"Just rolling out the welcome mat for our good friend Ernie, teachin' him to mind his manners." She said innocently, swaying side to side.

"Where did you come from…" He said dreamily, shaking his head as if he was in a trance.

"Straight from your dreams darlin." She winked, sliding him a beer.

Chief Unser arrived a few minutes early. He was a shorter, much older man than Sydney had expected - actively balding, drooping eyes, this man looked like he could kick it any minute.

"And who's this?" Unser asked, turning to Clay as he was shaking the hand of the beautiful young woman whom he'd never seen before.

"Sydney Harding. Newest addition to our crew." Her stomach flipped hearing Clay refer to her as part of the crew, her ego inflating even larger when she saw Unser scowl in confusion.

"Nice to meet you." She said with a smile.

"Uh, you too darling. Call me Wayne."

"Sure thing Chief." Clay snorted at her quip.

Clay spent the next ten minutes convincing Unser that Darby was no threat to Charming or their deal, which was not that hard to do, giving Sydney the impression that Unser had a soft spot for SAMCRO, one way or another.

Unser had left the clubhouse and Sydney was getting ready to head home when Half-Sack approached her. "Hey, uh you heading home?" She could tell he was trying to make conversation, feeling out of place.

She smiled sweetly. "Yeah I was planning on it, what're you up to tonight?" She hinted that she wouldn't mind hanging out if he didn't want to spend his Saturday night cleaning up puke from the bar floor.

His face lit up before Clay walked between them. "No you're not. Church."

She raised her brows and widened her eyes. "Guess not." She giggled.

Sydney took what she had claimed as her regular seat at the table between Chibs and Happy. She wondered why Clay called church so suddenly, seeing as the meeting with Unser had gone in his favour.

"Mayan retaliation. We strike tonight. Me, Jax, Chibs, Ope and Tig." The President announced, earning a confused scowl from Juice. "The less bodies, the better. We do this quiet." He explained.

"Ope?" Happy asked as if he had misheard.

Clay looked uncertain but continued. "Bobby's got Tahoe, need someone for the pyro."

"Nobody blows shit up better than Ope." Tig defended.

Sydney knew he was right, the five years that Opie did was for a botched arson, his getaway driver Kyle Hobart abandoning him at the scene. Nobody looked convinced, she assumed Opie's absence in the club since his release was the cause.

"Ope's leaning right these days." Happy protested which visibly angered Piney.

"Opie's gonna lean, any way we need em to." Clay pointed his finger and widened his eyes.

"He's just tryin to get on his feet with his family, guys. He didn't turn on us when he was arrested. He's not gonna start now." Jax defended. Piney nodded, silently thanking him for defending his son.

"How we doin this man?" Tig questioned, getting antsy in his seat.

"No bikes. No kuttes. We take the van and Ope's truck, hit it after sunset." Sydney couldn't help but admire Clay. He was a strong leader, the kind she would want to be - ruthless, but calm and smart, not letting anger cloud his judgment. There was no bullshit or doubt in his voice when he spoke, every word held purpose.

"Weapons?" Sydney heard, undoubtedly coming from the Sergeant at Arms himself.

"Hand guns, silencers. We don't take any risks out in Oaktown. We ain't got friends in places that high. We leave here just after 9:00." The slam of the gavel concluded the plotting.

Sydney couldn't deny that she wasn't happy about having to hang back, but she wasn't about to pout about it, not in front of the guys at least. She got up and exited the chapel with everyone else. With so much excitement going on, she decided to stick around, knowing Half-Sack would be stuck on-call at the clubhouse in case shit went south. The job had called for the bar to be closed to hang arounds tonight, which meant she could have some downtime without the distracting presence of crows and drunk bikers. She'd briefly thought about asking Gemma if she wanted to spend the night together, but something about knowing there would be fire and blood, set her blood on fire. She'd been contained over the past month, Darby was merely just a workout; giving her a taste for what she craved. She was dying to wreak some havoc.

She got a beer and sat herself at the tall table by the stripper pole. She had begun to unwind, the music was faint and the lights were dimmed as she was browsing her phone, doing some online shopping when suddenly a heavy bag slammed down on the table, startling her.

"Jesus Christ." She looked up, slapping her hand over her heart. It was Tig who had changed into a grey hoodie, dropping a bag of Glock 17's and disassembled silencers on the table.

"Just can't get enough of me, can ya Pussycat?" He teased.

"I never will." She said with that devilish smirk on her lips.

He smiled bashfully before she reached in the bag and began assembling the silencers, taking him a little off guard. He watched her as she pretended to be oblivious to his stare, but Half-Sack wasn't. He could see the way that Tig looked at her from a mile away.

"Where'd you learn to do all this shit?" He asked sincerely, admiration in every ounce of his expression. Sydney smiled and paused, something changing behind her eyes.

"My dad." She could feel the words lodge themselves in her throat as she forced them out.

Accepting that James was gone was something that Sydney had not even come close to doing. In her mind, he was just on a long run, or was waiting back home for her to come and visit. She had pushed all thoughts of him deep into the back of her mind since the day she found him lying dead in their living room, being knocked on her ass as Tig ripped them out of her.

She fought the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. Her dad had been her best friend, he was her rock, her mentor, her saviour. Everything she had, everything she'd learned and accomplished - she owed to him. She felt Tig grab her hand, his touch sending a shock through her body and making her flinch, looking up to meet his sympatheitc eyes. She held her head down and squeezed his hand tight, it was warm, and comforting, not rough and masculine like it had been before.

"Shit!" Like clockwork, the moment was ruined as Clay kicked over a barstool after ending a phone call outside of the clubhouse.

Tig immediately jumped up, resuming his role as Sergeant. "What happened?"

"Ope aint comin. Jax says somethin with his kid. I call bullshit." He sneered, wracking his brain for another option. "What the fuck are we gonna do now." He snarled.

"We can do it without him man."

"Let me come." Sydney piped up as she hopped off of her stool, her request coming across as more of a demand than a question. Clay and Tig whipped their heads around. "We can use blow torches and diesel instead of a bomb. It's not as fast but it's better than tripping the wrong wire." Clay looked skeptical, but he didn't outright say no. "I know where the warehouse is, and the best place to hit it from." When she continued arguing her case before he realized she wasn't going to let up.

"Fine. You and Tig go get Ope's truck. Me, Jax and Chibs will take the van." He stomped out of the clubhouse.

As soon as Clay was gone, Sydney looked at Tig and grinned, unable to contain the excitement of getting to go on her first SAMCRO job. He laughed and shook his head, impressed as she'd managed to talk her way into achieving her goal.

Half-Sack ran over to her and picked her up into a hug and spun her around. "Holy shit that was so cool!" He shared Sydney's excitement, the two of them happy dancing like a couple of elementary students. Tig just stood with his brow raised, hands on his hips, grimacing.

Sydney laughed and smacked him on the bicep. "Come on Tiggy, we have a job to do." She said before running out the door. He laughed at her excitement and followed her outside while she did front walkovers on the way to the car, him walking to the passenger side.

"Nah-ah Sergeant." She scolded. "Take your bike. We stop at my house for a bit then head to Opes in my car, leave it there while we have his truck. If he really is bullshitting, his wife seeing a Harley parked in their driveway won't help his case. He can say Clay asked if I could borrow the truck to pick up some furniture. Drop the truck off when we're done and you can ride back here from my place, it's gonna be a late night and I need my beauty sleep."

Tig stood motionless for a second, taking in the abundance of information that she'd clearly considered and he hadn't. "Yes ma'am." He nodded as if he really had a choice, not knowing that Sydney's plan was in the favour of anything but convenience, she just wanted an excuse to have him at her house as long as possible.

The two headed off, taking turns cutting each other off and slamming on the brakes, laughing the whole way there. They had a couple hours to kill before they needed to head to Opie's for his truck and Sydney had no idea what was going to happen with Tig alone in her house. They had spent a lot of time alone there in the past few weeks, but the dynamic had changed drastically.

Sydney had seen many failed relationships - never actually had any of her own, but maybe that was why. She saw how things got boring after settling down - the excitement, lust, happiness, uncertainty goes away and people become miserable. She couldn't push herself to make the leap of faith with Tig yet, even though something deep down told her that a relationship with him could never be boring.

Sydney put on her favourite Marvel movie, the one that Tig had told her on multiple occasions that he hated. "Oh come on doll, this again?" He groaned. She'd made him watch it twice already, insisting that it would grow on him.

"Of course Tiggy! I know it's your favorite." She smiled sadistically at him as he sat down on the couch next to her.

The movie started and Sydney watched lazily, the repetitiveness making it hard to focus with Tig sitting so close to her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the gorgeous man lounging with his arm across the backrest of the couch, a peaceful sight that she felt she could get used to. His presence was so warm, his smell so intoxicating. Her initial intention was just to push him over the edge into making a move, but apparently he'd found solace in her as much as she did in him.

Before they knew it, the credits of the movie were rolling across the TV screen. It took Sydney a second to realize that she was actually there and that she'd zoned out the entire movie.

"Like it yet?" She turned to a dozy Tig with a smile.

"Think one more time and I'll be sold." He chuckled and began to sit up as she got up to turn the TV off, wincing and rubbing the back of his neck. She figured it was a result of the uncomfortable position against the couch that he had spent the hour and a half in. His eyes were closed when suddenly a jolt ran through his body as he felt her hand on his cheek, hearing her soft giggle at his startled reaction before opening his eyes wearily, her nails tickled his neck as she moved her hand back.

"C'mere." She sat back down and scooted sideways, patting the couch in front of her, signalling for him to lean back. He closed his eyes as he leaned back, her gentle touch turning into light pressure on the tense muscles. He rolled his muscles against her fingers, his muscles beginning to relax. He was in a state of pure bliss, snapping his eyes open after he realized her touch had begun to lull him to sleep. "Happy ending?" She laughed.

He barked out a laugh, something that he was unfamiliar with doing around a woman. "Mmm don't tempt me when we got a deadline, baby." He hummed as he closed his eyes again.

"I can be quick." She breathed into his ear, smirking when his eyes flew open and he sat up off of her lap, trying to figure out if she was serious. She smiled smugly, getting up off and heading towards the staircase to get changed. "We probably won't be eating for a while so you can help yourself." She called over her shoulder.

He sat in the same position, pondering everything - trying to remind himself of all the excuses he'd managed to live with over the years: _Pussy is a distraction, women cause nothing but problems, she will try to change you_, but he couldn't. Easy pussy in the life of a biker made it easy to forget what it was like to have something real, to _want_ something real - something worth the risk. Tig was a fearless man, he would take a bullet for any one of his brothers, but he was terrified to admit that he was falling head over heels in love with her.


	8. Ablaze

_**Thank you all SO much for all of the love so far 😭**_

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 8: ABLAZE**

Tig opened the fridge and scanned the selection for something that tickled his fancy, landing on Sydney's leftover Chinese food. She'd said he could help himself, but he knew that he would suffer the consequences if he ate her precious fried rice without asking - which was out of the question.

"Hey Syd?" He called up the stairs, getting no answer. Figuring she just couldn't hear him, he started up the short staircase.

He'd fully intended on calling her name again as he neared the top, but the golden hue from her room created a heavenly pull that he couldn't resist. He slowly crept up the last step, padding closer and closer to her open door. Her glowing frame came into view, the soft light hitting her bare legs as she changed out of her clothes, leaving her looking like a glowing angel, sent down from the gates of heaven, just for him.

Sydney slid on a pair of thick leggings, standing in her bra before she walked over to her dresser and looked into the attached mirror while she twirled her necklace between her fingers, making eye contact with the mesmerized man standing in the doorway.

"I guess I should've suspected voyeurism by now." She chuckled.

He laughed and looked down, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he looked back up, meeting her emerald coloured eyes in the mirror with a look that was deeper than lust. He wasn't just looking at her body, he was looking at _her_.

He crossed the room, haphazardly placing his hands on her waist, his delicate touch giving her goosebumps. She placed her hands on his biceps and looked up at him with every muscle in her body tensing up. He leaned down and kissed her so deeply that it left her dizzy. She could feel the sparks flying as her heart pounded out of her chest. For the first time in her life, she felt scared - vulnerable, letting someone kiss her like she was precious, like she meant so much. This kiss wasn't about hunger, need, or torture, it was about passion and closeness. She brought her hands up to his face, both completely wrapped up in the tender embrace.

She pulled away for air first, meeting his eyes and seeing the same fear. They both knew… She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again, pulling each other as close as possible while their tongues curled around one another. Their bodies fit together so perfectly, like they were made for eachother.

Tig's hands moved down towards her ass as things became more heated. She pressed against his chest with her hands lightly, breaking the embrace. "Tiggy we-"

"We have time darlin." He whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. She kissed him again softly, nodding before walking him over to her bed and sitting him down on the edge.

He looked up at her, wrapping his strong arms around her as he nuzzled against her skin. She ran her fingers gently through his hair before he pulled her on top of him, bringing her astride his hips as he laid back. He moved his hands up to her shoulders, caressing her arms with his fingertips. Once his appreciative trail reached her hands, she took his, pushing hers into them and bringing his arms up above his head, pressing them into the mattress softly. She began placing delicate, open mouthed kisses on his neck, working her way back to his lips and letting go of her grip on his hands.

He cradled the back of her head once his hands were free, lightly grasping at her hair and supporting her back before he flipped them over, not breaking the bond between their lips. He pulled away to look at her, brushing some loose strands of hair behind her ear, grazing her cheek with his thumb. Neither of them had to say anything.

He leaned back down into another passionate kiss when a ringing phone snapped them both out of the spell they were under. Sydney grabbed the burner out of his back pocket, handing it to him with a wink, making him chuckle as he flipped it open.

"Yeah." He snapped into the phone, still on top of her, leaning down to reattach his lips to hers. She giggled against his mouth when he took her by surprise, smirking as he pulled away to respond. "Yeah brother, we're just at her house, bout to head to Ope's." She smiled, hooking her fingers into the collar of his hoodie and pulling him down to her lips this time. He chuckled against her lips, pulling away to finish the call. "Okay, see you soon." He snapped the phone shut. "We gotta get going." He whispered, giving her one last peck as he got up off of her and left the room.

Sydney pulled on a black fitted t-shirt and black nike running shoes, chuckling to herself as she remembered Juice's comment about her impractical footwear. She gathered her hair into a tight ponytail on the top of her head, nicely showing off the dark hickey from the night before. She hopped down the stairs, bouncing with excitement over their moment and her first proper club job, walking into the kitchen to meet Tig where she saw that her leftover Chinese food had been warmed up and was waiting with a plastic fork on the island.

Tig rounded the island and grabbed her keys off the counter, indicating that he was driving. "For the road." He winked.

"I'm surprised you didn't eat it." She scoffed.

"And deal with you in the car for an hour? Wouldn't dream of it." She laughed out loud - the man had a point.

"Thanks Tiggy." She said shyly and smiled, turning towards the door when she felt him behind her as he swiftly bent down and placed a peck on her exposed hickey, winked as he walked in front of her. A bubbly smile spread across her face, as did the blush across her cheeks.

She grabbed a black leather jacket out of the closet on her way out the door, shrugging into it on the way to the car.

"Wow... Is it possible that you look sexier with more clothes on?" Tig drooled in approval of her heist attire.

"Eat your heart out baby." She cooed, playfully shimmying for him.

"Oh darlin I have every intention." He nodded with a growl.

Tig waited to pull into Opies driveway as Sydney backed the tall man's truck out after retrieving the keys from the mailbox. Once he parked her car, he jogged over to the waiting truck around to the driver's side. "C'mon we gotta get goin." He groaned impatiently, opening the door and motioned for her to move out of the way.

"No way!" She patted the passenger seat. He grimaced but complied, only on the basis of avoiding Clay chewing his ass out for being late.

Once they arrived back at the clubhouse, Sydney went straight to the dorm that Happy was staying in to retrieve her glock. She'd given him her weapons to clean the day before, knowing that her first church meant that they would soon be put to use.

She'd planned on knocking like a civilized human being, but decided against it when she heard moaning outside the door, figuring she would just grab her belongings so that he could get back to it, assuming that he'd grabbed a crow to blow off the steam he undoubtedly acquired from not being included in tonight's hit. She walked in, seeing Happy pistoning a blonde from behind. _Definitely blowing off steam._

He stopped his thrusting when the door flew open, whipping his head to see Sydney, the blonde on her hands and knees before him widening her eyes, immediately screaming at her to get out and wait her turn.

Sydney snorted, crossing her arms and raising a brow at the woman challengingly, which reluctantly shut her up with a huff and a roll of her heavily lined eyes. She smiled smugly and waltzed over to the desk where she spotted her gold engraved glock 17 and pink silencer, once Happy realized she was just fetching her property, he resumed what he was doing. He'd never been one to care about fucking infront of an audience.

The bald man stopped again when the sound of the silencer being attached got his attention, a sound that only Happy Lowman would be able to pick up on over the moans of a woman taking his cock, the croweater huffing in frustration. He bucked his hips into her punishingly, shutting her up once again.

"You goin with them?" He asked with a raised brow and an upturned lip.

"Ope's not coming. Needed someone for pyro." He sat on it for a second before curtly nodding, deciding that this was acceptable, unable to help himself from smirking over his correct prediction about Opie..

"Cuidado." He said firmly. The cold command in his tone fell on deaf ears as she knew that he only spoke in Spanish when there was something sentimental to be shared between just the two of them... Or when they were fighting.

"Siempre." She gave a soft nod.

The moment was broken with another scoff from the croweater who had tried Sydney's patience one too many times. She crossed the room quickly, the scrawny blonde trying to scramble away as she closed the distance but Happy used his position to keep her in place. Sydney grabbed a fistful of stringy, box dyed hair, ripping the girls head back into an excruciating position.

"Try to rush me again." She sneered, teeth grit and eyes full of fire. Tears immediately sprung to the woman's eyes as she tried to shake her head out of the tight grip. "And I will cave in those botoxed fucking cheeks. Only warning. Understand?" Blondie nodded as best she could in the trying position. Sydney let her hair go, throwing her head down for good measure. Happy ripped out of her and pushed her forward, making it obvious that she wouldn't be getting what she started this scuffle over.

Sydney chuckled when she face planted into the mattress. "Sorry Hap. If you need a replacement, let me know." She winked at him playfully.

Jax and Chibs were surprised to see Sydney at the rendezvous, getting a sigh and shake of the head from Clay when they looked to him for an explanation.

Sydney's lips curled up at the encounter, grabbing her gun and cocking it dramatically, "Come on boys." She cooed seductively and strutted out the door.

"You got your hands full with that one." Jax smiled smugly at Tig, who followed her out the door as if the earth's gravitation was pulling him after her.

"We all do." Clay sighed.

The guys had let Sydney take the lead on the drive without her even having to ask, she'd planned on cutting them off and forcing it anyways, but this was much easier. She and Tig drove mostly in silence, the radio on quietly for background noise. He stared at her longingly most of the way, first chuckling in mock disapproval at her reckless driving habits: the way she barely held the steering wheel with two fingers, a cigarette in her other hand, her left foot propped up on the seat and her head resting against her knee. She tried her hardest not to squirm under his gaze but the butterflies in her stomach were swarming.

They approached the road leading to the industrial area, spotting a lone Mayan riding along the straight road in front of them, likely heading to the warehouse. "Shit." Sydney pulled over, Jax pulling the van up beside them.

"How do we wanna do this?" Clay asked.

"Can't guarantee a clear shot with the glocks unless we get close, man... Risk spookin him. That Mayan spots us and gets back to the warehouse, or gets on the horn for backup? We're as good as dead." Tig concluded as Sydney looked around, noticing a steel rod in the bed of the truck.

"I have an idea... Stay on me until I give you a signal." She gave no time for anyone to argue with her as she pulled ahead of the van, gaining speed on the rider. "Take the wheel." She looked to Tig after seeing that Jax was right on their tail.

"What?" He protested in confusion.

"You wanted to drive, now take the wheel!" She screeched impatiently. He scowled but quickly grabbed it as she turned her attention to opening the sliding back window.

"What in the name of Christ is she doing?" Chibs yelled as he watched Sydney climb out the window and into the truck bed. She stayed down low, luckily the sound of the roaring chopper masked the sound of the truck's exhaust as Tig neared the rider.

"Pull up on his left." She called to Tig from the bed of the truck, signalling for Jax to go right, grabbing the steel rod. This plan would cause the Mayan to be distracted by Tig, thinking he was just an impatient driver and keeping his attention away from the van so that she could trip the bike before he knew there was trouble.

Sure enough, the Mayan whipped his head around to give Tig the finger when Sydney leaned over and threw the steel rod into the spokes of his wheels, causing it to roll. Chibs shot him the fallen biker in the head from the side door as they drove by, hollering their cheer behind her and Tig. She climbed back through the window with a proud smile etched on her face, sitting pretty with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap.

"What the hell baby?" Tig gawked with a lazy smile and sparkles in his eyes. She smirked at him, lifting her legs to rest over his lap as she began directing him where to go, weaving in and out of alleyways and access roads between warehouses and factories.

"How the hell do you remember this?" Tig spat as he pulled up behind the correct warehouse.

Sydney theatrically turned to face him as she swung her legs down and inched closer. "You aren't seriously telling me that I'm taking the Sergeant at Arms by surprise _again_, are you?" She slowly slid her hand towards the bulge in his pants.

He didn't say anything, responding by leaning closer, twitching under her touch. Her lips were almost at his when she heard the door of the van slam behind them, ripping her hand away and smiling evilly at him before she hopped out of the truck. She was met by the discerning smirks of the three men who had seen the entire encounter through the back window of the truck that she had momentarily forgotten was not tinted. She ignored them, looking down and smiling as she walked around to the back of the van to grab a blow torch.

Tig got out of the vehicle after trying to adjust himself in his pants when he met the same gaze from the guys. "What?"

Jax nodded to his very obvious erection making all the men snicker. "Am I doing this alone?" Sydney whisper-yelled impatiently from the back of the van, the men widening their eyes to each other in mock surrender, rounding the van where Tig grabbed the other blow torch while Sydney tucked one under her arm.

"How old are you anyway, Princess?" Jax asked as he watched the young girl move with the precision and confidence of an experienced expert.

"What's wrong VP? You scared of a little jailbait?" She cooed, smirking cockily while walking away.

Tig's eyes widened. "Turned twenty-two in April, talked to Packer already." Clay raised a hand to stop his worry, winking at him.

"Oh brother, I'd do time for that ass." Tig shook his head with a grimace.

"Perimeter sweep. Jax and Chibs, you take the left, bring the supplies. Princess, you're with me and Tigger on the right. We meet inside." Everyone nodded, Sydney and Tig handing the fire equipment off to Jax and Chibs before everyone drew their guns and began their stalk.

Sydney, Tig and Clay were rounding the right side of the building next to another warehouse when they saw two Mayans and a bald, white man. Clay raised his hand in the air, halting the stalk. "What the hell is a Nord doing here?" He sneered, confusion heavy in the hollows of his eyes.

"Darby... Him and Alvarez must be workin together to flood drugs into charming and push us out." Tig said in realization.

It all made perfect sense - the way that Alvarez's ball seemed to double in size overnight when he made the bold decision to torch the warehouse, the way that Darby's crank was showing up inside Charming, it was because the two had joined forces.

"That's Whistler." Tig referred to the Nord, who happened to be Darby's best friend and second in command.

Clay peered around the side of the building, running behind a dumpster a few yards up the wall, getting closer to the men and signalling for the pair to follow. Tig placed his hand on Sydney's lower back, nodding for her to go first. Once they were all safely concealed behind the dumpster, they noticed all three men were carrying AKs, _their _AKs.

"Those are the guys from earlier today." Sydney recognized the two Mayans walking alongside Whistler.

Clay peered around the metal bin, raising his gun at the men who were standing some thirty yards away with their backs turned. The President was about to begin open fire when his gun was yanked down by a dainty hand on the barrel.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He whispered as rage filled his blue eyes, the low velocity not serving to make his voice any less terrifying.

"We keep them alive. Press them for the intel about Darby, find out exactly what we're dealing with straight from the source." Tig sat frozen in his crouched position, shocked by the girl's boldness.

"And how the fuck do you suggest we sneak up on these assholes and get them to hand over their guns huh? _Princess._"

"I got it." She grinned evilly, slipping the knife from the inside of Tigs boot as she spoke - the knife that he'd never told her was there. The dark haired man scowled as he used it to cut open the top of her shirt, revealing her cleavage - hiw scowl quickly turning to a look of surprise as he and Clay both blinked a few times in an attempt to refocus their distracted eyes. She yanked the elastic out of her hair and flicked it at Tig, laughing sadistically as she let her long locks cascade down her back. She winked as she slid his knife back into it's sheath before running a hand along his jaw while he looked at her hazily. She tucked her gun in the back of her waistband as she stood and ran out from behind the dumpster, stopping in her tracks and beginning to stumble around towards the men.

"Hey boys! I told you I would be back." She pointed and wagged her finger at them with a seductive grin.

The Mayans glanced at each other and shared a nod before approaching her quickly, backing her against the wall. Tig stiffened at the sight of them touching her, lunging forward out of instinct but Clay held him back.

"Easy brother." He squeezed his eyes shut, collecting himself and nodding.

Sydney watched Tig and Clay approach with a wicked grin as the men ravished her, pulling at her clothes. Just when their guns were almost in contact with the men, she ripped hers out from behind her, pressing it into the ribcage of the Mayan who was whispering in her ear. The two other men went to draw their guns on her, but Clay and Tig stopped them with the barrels of their guns against their heads.

"No bang bang, por-favor." Sydney smirked at Clay's words before he turned to the Mayan she was holding at gunpoint. "You tell your guys that they steal from SAMCRO, they get some of this." He pulled the trigger, killing the Mayan he had ahold of.

Sydney's eyes flashed at the sight of his blood, a tingle working its way up her spine. She moved her gun up to the Mayan's temple as Tig collected their guns, ordering them inside where they met back up with Chibs and Jax who had found all but one crate of the stolen AKs.

"What the hell?" Jax questioned when he saw one of Darby's guys.

"Looks like Darby's shit ended up on his to-do list after all." Clay announced to his crew.

Jax and Chibs interrogated the men while Sydney and Tig held them at gunpoint, finding out that the Mayans' Oakland President, Marcus Alvarez was indeed working with Darby to snuff out SAMCRO. After finding out what they needed to know, Clay and Jax brought the men outside while Chibs loaded the AKs and Sydney and Tig got to work on the Warehouse.

Sydney got started lighting up the back of the building, her senses roaring to life as the flames began to catch. A warm satisfaction took over her body as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Tig's eyes widened as he watched her set the place ablaze, feeling back in her element for the first time in weeks as she twirled around with the torch in hand.

Tig walked over to her in a haze, beginning to light up the wall opposite to the one she was working on. The sound of the second blow torch snapped her out of her trance long enough to meet his eyes which were wilder than she had ever seen them before. She gave into the pull - walking towards him, completely captivated. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off of the ground, her legs wrapping around his hips while he spun her around and she reignited her blow torch.

"What in the hell am I fuckin watchin." Chibs said to Clay and Jax from the doorway, with a raised eyebrow.

Tig finally put her down when the interior of the building was bright and hot, the two of them running towards the door, laughing. Sydney grabbed the whiskey bottle of diesel fuel from the van, standing a few feet from the entrance as she made sure everyone was ready to go the second she launched the bottle. The remaining Mayan was being held at gunpoint in the van by Chibs, who would release him to relay the message to his club, while the Nord was bound, gagged, and placed in the bed of Opie's truck.

"Light it up!" Chibs screamed before she underhand tossed the bottle into the doorway and made a run for Tig waiting in the truck. Just as she got seated, the roof of the building blew open.

"I've always loved fireworks." She said dreamily with her eyes glued to the flames, admiring her work. Tig grabbed her hand as he sat just as captivated by the flames as she was.

The two vehicles headed for the exit of the warehouse lot, stopping for Chibs to open the sliding door and push the Mayan out. "I trust you two can take care of that one?" Clay asked the wild pair smugly, nodding his head towards the bed of the truck.

Sydney looked behind her to see the Nord lying wide-eyed, muffling through the gag in his mouth. A sadistic look washed over her. "Yeah, you can." She said low as a sadistic look washed over her, entranced by the thoughts of what they could do to him.

"Those sick fucks are perfect for each other." Clay chuckled to Jax and Chibs as they drove off back to Charming.

Tig drove to a secluded, forested area outside of Oakland. Sydney rolled her window down, taking a deep breath and inhaling the sweet smell of the forest as the truck rolled down a dirt pathway. She lit a cigarette, savouring the feeling of the breeze on her cheeks.

"Seem to know where you're goin." She questioned playfully.

"We got burial sites all over Northern Cali darlin."

"I should've known." She chuckled.

"Did I... Did I just take the princess by surprise?" He put his hand over his heart in mock-surprise.

"Wouldn't be the first time Tigger." He was about to ask what exactly she meant by that but before he could say anything, she changed the subject. "This place reminds me of home." A trace of sadness could be heard in her voice.

"A deserted forest?" He raised a brow.

"I like my alone time." Her lips curled up.

"You and Hap really are alike." He scoffed. "You miss it?" His eyes squinted as he steered the conversation in a more serious direction.

"Nah. Nothin for me there."

"And there is here?" Of course he knew what Charming held in store for her on multiple fronts, but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to hear whatever smug answer she would come up with.

"I could think of a thing or two." She smirked, looking him up and down.

"Come on doll. No friends, family?" He paused for a second. "_Boyfriends_?" Sydney snorted.

She'd guessed that soon they would be having their own relationship conversation, so he was likely testing the waters. The two had gotten to know each other very well, but family and relationships were a sensitive topic, so they danced around the subject, trying to get the answers they desired through the cryptic games they played.

"Slim pickings back home." Tig raised a brow in response. "Come on Tiggy. You and I both know those San Bernardino pretty boys can't keep up with me." He chuckled.

"Won't argue with you there, Pussycat, what you need is a man. SAMDINO Princess musta been off limits." He surmised, the only conclusion that made sense as to why she'd never had a boyfriend.

"SAMDINO Princess was off limits. But the SAMCRO Princess ain't." She winked before dropping the facade. "Nah, off limits as a sweetbutt, but my dad always wanted me to find someone, even if it ended up being a brother, kinda knew it would be. I just never did." She shrugged. "Jax has more of a duty put on him to carry on the club legacy, but I guess I kind of put the duty on myself. Could never be with an outsider, with the way I am..."

"Don't worry Princess, you'll meet your knight on a shining Harley one day." He joked, the lightness of the statement fading quickly as he thought about her being with somebody other than him.

"Yeah... One day." She gave a small smirk, the playfulness in her eyes giving Tig butterflies - an uncomfortable and foreign feeling.

"No boyfriends, okay... What about friends and family?" He continued his inquisitions after getting a solid answer.

"My dad was all I had for real family, the DINO guys, sure but they're different from SAMCRO..." She trailed off, once again realizing how different the two charters really were. The SAMDINO Sons were like family to her, but it was a kind of distanced family, like a bunch of uncles or cousins that you only see on holidays. They were all brothers under the reaper - yes, but they didn't have a bond like SAMCRO did. They were far less die hard, giving members much more time for family and friends outside of the club, which most would be grateful for - but for Sydney, the club was her life, her family. Adjusting to SAMCRO had been a cakewalk. This was where she belonged.

"Few friends throughout school." She shrugged again. "Guys I'd bring around for fun so the club wouldn't hassle me. Just people to pass the time with… Some of the prospects were decent company sometimes, I just don't get attached to people easily, I guess. Anyone I actually like is always on the road." She chuckled humorlessly at her luck. "Hap is my best friend, and he's here, so nothing to miss - except the beach." She smiled nostalgically before diverting the lingering attention off of herself. "What about you? You still have lots of girls to tell me about." She teased, raising her eyebrows up and down playfully.

He snickered. "Nah, the whole relationship thing was never really my bent. Girls don't get me."

"They're silly girls. What you need is a woman." She winked. "You ever love someone before?"

"Long time ago darlin..."

"What about family?"

"Fucked around too many times for my daughters to see me as anything more than an ATM machine."

"I'm sorry..." She could hear the pain and bitterness in his flat tone as he discussed the shortcomings of his past.

"S'okay doll, I earned that. I'm not a good person, I gotta live with that."

"Yeah, I know how that feels." She trailed off. She wanted to comfort him, tell him all the good that she saw in him, but she understood the feeling as well as he did.

The truck came to a stop when they reached a clearing. Tig grabbed the door handle, pausing and looking back to her. "You're an angel darlin." His words were full of sincerity, his eyes penetrating her soul as he spoke before getting out of the truck.

Her stomach flipped, shaking her head, unsure of how to react but deciding that she would figure her shit out later, there were more important things to take care of right now.

Tig lowered the tailgate of the truck which Sydney stepped onto and waltzed around to the back. She pressed her shoe against the Nords cheek, tipping his face up to look at her, lips curling up before she rolled him over towards Tig, who grabbed his tied wrists and brought him to his feet. He held the barrel of his gun to the man's head and dropped him to his knees, getting ready to pull the trigger when he was interrupted.

"No!" Sydney begged desperately.

Tig looked up, confused and slightly annoyed with his brows furrowed as he sharply exhaled, waited for an explanation.

"Please Tiggy... Let me do it." His expression softened and the stars in his eyes returned.

"Well alright darlin" He smirked with pleasant surprise, watching her cock her gun and place the barrel against the back of the Nords head, slowly dragging it towards the front, stopping in the middle of his forehead as she walked to stand in front of him.

"Oh baby, let me take this off for you." Sydney said sweetly, removing her gun and tracing his face in her palm as he cried and screamed against the gag before she pulled it from his mouth. "Is that better?" She asked softly, comfortingly.

"Please, please let me go. I promise I-" His begging was cut short as she whipped her gun back around to his forehead and pulled the trigger, his lifeless body crashing to the forest floor, sending adrenaline rushing through her body.

Tig was completely motionless as he watched the scene unfold, unable to comprehend what had just happened. What he was able to comprehend however, was how badly he needed her. She looked up at him, both of them breathing heavily as he stalked over to her briskly before she practically leapt into his arms. She kissed him fiercely and instantly his hands were all over her. Clothes started flying, he ripped her shirt open the rest of the way as she worked on his belt buckle. He laid her down in the bed of the truck and got between her legs, yanking her leggings and panties down with one hand, using the other to pull down her bra, exposing a breast. Her nipple hardened in the cool air instantly before he took it in his warm mouth, the contract making her whimper in pleasure before moving back up to her mouth while he pushed his boxers down.

She held him to her lips firmly by the neck as he slid into her, bringing her to heaven all over again. He bit and sucked bruises in a trail on her neck and collarbone as he thrusted into her desperately. Her nails dug into his back, drawing blood in the heat of the moment which caused him to bite into her collarbone even harder. She cried out loudly in a mixture of pain and pleasure as he gently sucked the bruise, easing the pain with his tongue. He pulled back with a smirk of satisfaction, he loved marking her. He wanted everyone to know that with no doubt, she was _his_.

The breeze of the night hit the fresh scratches on his back, spurring him on as he took her hands in his and pressed them against the bed of the truck above her head and looked into her eyes, the moon being the only light source, making his eyes look more white than blue.

Sydney felt a wave of emotion hit her, a pit in her stomach forming deep in her stomach when he looked at her like that. He slowed his pace when he saw something change in her eyes, looking at her with care and concern, silently asking her what he was too scared to say out loud.

"You have pretty eyes." She breathed out innocently with a soft smile.

Tig could feel his heart melting, stopping his movements, he removed one of his hands from hers and cupped her face tenderly, caressing her cheek with his thumb before he kissed her softly. Her now free hand running gently through his curls.

She felt the pinch behind her eyes as he touched her so delicately in a way she'd never been touched before, like she was special instead of different, unique instead of out of place. They were both having the same internal battles, completely beside themselves with this new intimacy. Tig was a kinky bastard, he loved the screaming, the roughness and the dirty talk and Sydney wasn't much different - but the way her body responded to his was better than any scream or dirty talk that he could think of. He felt a rush of excitement as he realized that with her, he could have both - he could work out his kinks and dominance, but also show his love and appreciation.

Tig kept his appreciative gaze on her as he began thrusting into her again, but much slower this time. She hesitated, then leaned up and kissed him deeply. He gently guided her to lay his head back down, pulling his lips away and leaning his forehead against hers. This sex was different than the sex they'd had the night before, this was passionate, sensual. This was no longer fucking, this was making love.

* * *

_**Guy tied up in the back of the truck awaiting his death? Good time for a deep conversation!**_


	9. Dancing With the Devil

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 9: DANCING WITH THE DEVIL**

Twenty minutes had passed since Tig had rolled off of Sydney and onto the truck bed before pulling her into his arms, the heat of their bodies combating the cool midnight breeze around them. Her head rested on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as the two shared a cigarette lazily while she ran her fingers along his chest, playing with his necklace while he fiddled with her hair and stroked her arm.

"Don't break my heart Tiggy." She uttered, barely above a whisper as she let her emotions take over.

Tig's heartbeat tripled as his mind began running laps, a function that Sydney could feel below her temple as he pondered what it meant if he was _able_ to break her heart. She stopped moving her fingers across his chest after she spoke. His hand that had been drawing circles on her arm moved to hers, grasping it lightly. He flipped his palm so that the back of her hand was against it as he laced his fingers through hers and closed their hands, bringing them to his lips as he kissed her knuckles gently and pulled her in tighter with the arm that was around her.

"Couldn't even if I wanted to doll." He said with just as much emotion in his voice. For the first time in what felt like his entire life, he wanted something serious.

"We should head back, it's been a long day." Tig prompted after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Sydney nodded, easing herself up to begin redressing. She giggled as she balled up the remnants of her shredded shirt which was completely unwearable, chucking it on top of Nord's body.

"What are we gonna do with him?" She nodded towards Whistler while zipping up her jacket over her bare torso.

"Sack'll come out and bury him." Tig said matter-of-factly.

The two started the drive back after calling Half-Sack with the location. They were about halfway back on their drive home after calling Half-Sack with the location when Sydney leaned her head against the window, beginning to drift off, crashing hard from all of the adrenaline.

"Tired, Kitten?" She nodded. "C'mere." Tig rubbed her back, gently pulling her down to lay in his lap as he drove. She giggled softly, loving the opportunity to be close to him as he gently stroked her hair with one hand while the other gripped the steering wheel, she fell asleep in no time.

Tig pulled the truck onto Opie's street, stopping as gentle as possible with Sydney in his lap. He put the truck in park, looking down lovingly at the gorgeous girl sleeping peacefully in his lap. He took his time admiring her while he had the chance, unlike he'd had the previous time that she'd fallen asleep on him. He ran his fingertips across her cheek, brushing her hair out of her face. She moaned softly as she began to wake, the sound of her moan making his dick twitch.

"We're almost home." Sydney heard his soft voice before she began to sit up slowly, taking a deep breath. She got out of the truck and stretched, trying to wake herself up when Tig put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the passenger seat of her car.

"It's okay, I'll drive." She smiled, sinking into the seat in her haze.

"Don't fucking touch my seat." She whimpered weakly with a chuckle, half asleep as Tig climbed into the driver's seat. He froze with his hand on the lever, pulling it away and laughing while contorting his limbs uncomfortably to fit in the small space that the short girl drove in. She managed to stay awake on the drive back to her house - given it was a short one, although she contemplated falling back asleep if it meant Tig would carry her inside.

She staggered up the walkway to her front door, unlocking it and kicked her shoes off and stumbling down the hall to shut off the lights in the kitchen, still not completely awake when she felt his hands lightly grab her waist.

"I got it doll, you go up to bed." She nodded, starting up the stairs slowly in the hopes that he would turn off the lights and return quickly, taking the hint to follow her upstairs rather than lock the door behind him when he left.

Just as she hoped, Tig was back in no time, following her up the stairs with a guiding hand pressed lightly against her back. She turned on the lamp next to her bed before she started fumbling with the zipper on her jacket - Tig quickly taking control and helping her undress.

The surprise of his pure intentions in the tender way that he undressed her, woke her right up. She sat on the edge of her bed in her bra and panties, leaning back on her elbows as she widened her eyes innocently at Tig standing over her, who quickly sat on the edge of the bed, unable to keep himself controlled at that angle.

"You were good today Kitten, real good..." He stroked her arm. "Good girls deserve to be taken care of." He explained at the request of her inquisitive eyes in reaction to his actions. He _was_ talking about helping her, but the way that she sat there half naked and wide eyed was coaxing the beast in him.

She watched the switch flip as his eyes glossed her, sending tingles through her body. "Will you take care of me Tiggy?" She asked innocently in a whisper, taking him from semi, to completely hard in a fraction of a second.

"Yes, baby girl." He whispered as he leaned over her completely, attaching his lips to hers, his fingers grazing her waist as he circled it and swiftly unhooked her bra before retaking it with both hands and pushing her to lay back. She shivered when her back hit the cool bedding, a direct contrast to fire she felt within her.

He planted a lingering kiss on her lips before he moved down her body slowly, sensually, dragging his lips across her skin. He sucked on her nipples gently, twirling his tongue around the rings, making them rock hard while he started to massage her through her panties.

He slid off of the bed, kneeling on the floor in front of her, lips not leaving her body as he gently spread her legs open, nearing her core. A gasp left her throat when his teeth grazed her hip bone, giggling when she felt his lips curl up into a smile against her stomach, loving the way his facial hair tickled against her skin. His hands trailed down her legs, grasping a calf as he moved his mouth down her inner thigh, lifting her leg and easing it over his shoulder. He trailed the inside of her leg with the tip of his tongue while she giggled and hummed at the tickling of her most sensitive parts before he finally wrapped his arms under her thighs, gripping the waistband of her panties and sliding them down slowly.

"What are you doing to me baby girl?" He said dreamily as he admired her pussy, dripping wet for him. She smiled in satisfaction, moaning quietly at his words.

He moved his hands to her waist, pulling her towards him. She arched her back, making his tongue just barely touching her clit which sent her entire body jolted upwards. "That feel good baby?" He taunted.

"Y-es. More." She whined.

He dove back in, his tongue working it's magic as he alternated between swirling it over her clit and pressing it inside her. She was completely at his mercy, the experience that this man possessed had her moaning, yelping and gasping at every move. His hands were all over her, his own appreciative humming vibrated through her body, bringing her orgasm on quick. She arched her back up off of the bed as much as possible, squeezing his head between her thighs and curling her toes against his back before she met her release, convulsing as she pulled him away weakly by his hair.

The staggered breathing as she came down from her high was music to Tig's ears - music that he didn't want to stop. She could feel the wet aftermath between her legs as he eased them off of his shoulders and down to the floor, grabbing her waist and lifting her up further on the bed, firmly sliding his hands down her sides, around to her ass and down her legs.

"You're so beautiful, baby. You know that?" She giggled softly, biting her lip and arching her back in satisfaction.

He trailed his finger tips down the centre of her stomach with a feather-light touch, watching making her squirm before he reached her sensitive clit, making her entire upper half jolt upwards again. He chuckled sadistically, loving what he was doing to her. He continued his path until he hit her entrance, sliding a finger into her slowly.

She mashed her lips together at the sensation, letting go and moaning while digging her head into the mattress. He slid his finger out slowly before sliding two fingers back in. He leaned over her, petting her hair and brushing his thumb over her forehead while he continued his assault between her legs.

Sydney licked at his lips, tasting herself on them which earned her a harder thrust of his digits. She fed into the intimacy, the erotic encounter, the heat of the moment - breathing her moans into his mouth while he fingered her in his perfectly mastered 'come hither' technique. She became a moaning, writhing, mess beneath him and he thought it was the hottest thing he'd ever experienced.

"That's it baby." His lips moved to the sensitive spot below her ear, breathing onto her neck. "My good girl." He sent her tumbling over the edge yet again - this time, all she could see were stars as her eyes rolled back and her body went limp. He slid his fingers out of her slowly, kissing her softly as she came down. He felt an odd sensation pulse through his body when his lips met hers - something between the peak of arousal, and the release of an orgasm as he pulled back, seeing her splayed out on the bed, marinating in the ecstasy of his touch. He got to his feet, peeling the corner of the blankets back.

Sydney was still laying vertically across the bed when he leaned down, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting slightly. She got the hint and wrapped her arms around his neck, legs around his waist as he lifted her, placing her into bed and under the covers. _God this was so much better sober. _

He turned off the lamp, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead while she struggled to keep her eyes open, the sweet gesture making her weaker than she already was - if that was even possible. She loved that he babied her, making her feel small in a different way than men usually did; in a way that didn't belittle her or make her feel like she had something to prove.

A pang of sadness radiated through her chest as he walked towards the door - wanting nothing more for him to stay but not being able to say the words.

The racing of disappointment in her heart quickly changed to that of excitement when she heard his footsteps change direction, rounding the other side of the bed where he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed next to her. Her satisfaction was almost enough to trump her high, but he had done an expert job, the effects of which could not easily be snuffed out.

He snuggled up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her into him. She could feel he was still hard against her ass, attempting to pull herself from her haze as she reached around to grab his cock but was stopped by him grabbing her wrist. "It's okay darlin, go to sleep." He said softly, shaking his head as he wrapped his arm back around her.

"Are you sure Tiggy?"

"I'm sure." The quickness of his own answer caught him a little off guard, he rarely ate out the girls that he slept with, for their pleasure - let alone with no pleasure for himself, but she pleased him in ways completely opposite from what he was used to.

"Promise?" Tig couldn't help but wonder how she could go from shooting a man in the head mercilessly, to being the most innocent and pure thing he'd ever experienced. If he hadn't been introduced to her dangerous side, he would've been terrified to taint her. But her dynamics demolished that fear, giving him real hope for the first time in his life.

He chuckled again, brushing his lips against the crook of her neck. "I promise baby girl." He pressed a kiss against her skin. "Goodnight." He nuzzled against her.

"Night." She swooned, squeezing the beautiful arm draped over her as her mind drifted off from cloud nine and into sleep.

Sydney awoke the next morning in the exact same position she had fallen asleep. Her eyes fluttered open as the sunlight peeked through the blinds, hearing the soft snoring in her ear as she regained her senses to feel Tig snuggled close to her with his limp arm still wrapped around her waist.

The second that she was coherent, her stomach sank - realizing that the man in her bed was not a figment of her imagination. Her face tingled as an excited smile spread across it, she tried to calm her vibrating nerves as not to wake him, but her body betrayed her yet again. She froze when she felt him move - clenching every muscle in her body, trying to stay still and appear asleep but cracked when she heard his chuckle. _Shit, busted_.

Tig moved his arm from around her waist, up to grab her hand, lacing their fingers. He nuzzled against her neck and chuckled again when he felt her hand flinch against his.

"Mornin doll." His breath sent shivers up her spine, the electricity in her body forcing another grin.

"Morning." She answered quietly, bringing his hand up to her lips as she kissed his fingers gently.

She glanced at her phone on the nightstand next to her, which was lit up with an email notifying her of the items she'd abandoned in her Fashion Nova shopping cart yesterday. 9:17 A.M. - her screen showed no new messages, _thank god_. She worried that an early church would've been called after the events last night. Just as the thought entered Sydney's mind, Tig's phone started ringing. She chuckled to herself as he groaned and rolled over to grab the offending device out of his discarded jeans, seizing this opportunity to get up and get herself into the shower.

Tig flipped his phone open as he caught her walking across the room completely naked, his gaze following her ass. She stopped in the doorway and gave him a cocky smile while she slowly shook her head and started giggling, looking to the floor and crossing the threshold.

He snapped his head back in place, turning his attention to the phone call. "Yeah, yeah I'm here man."

Sydney stepped into the shower, turning the taps on with a squeak before the water started, letting it cascade down her body, soothing her muscles - and nerves. She washed her hair quickly, giving herself more time to enjoy the hot water. She was deep in thought, eyes closed, head tilted towards the stream of warm water as she let it trickle down her face, wondering how she could possibly spend a night alone after this.

Tig laid in bed grinning to himself, the last time he had properly slept with a woman had to have been years ago, anything recent was due to copious amounts of alcohol. He had never been a 'stay over' kind of guy, but with her, he found himself dreading spending a night alone. He heaved himself out of bed, dressing and then at some point finding himself staring in awe at Sydney from the bathroom door, watching her hands slide down her body, wishing that they were his...

Sydney heard the toilet flush as the water went from soothing warm - to freezing cold. Her eyes flew open from her peaceful trance, screaming and jumping back. She opened the shower door to see Tig standing with one foot on the toilet handle and his hand over his face while he laughed hysterically, excited that he was able to catch her off guard.

He held out a towel, still laughing. "Have to start evenin out the score somehow, Princess." She raised her eyebrows in challenge. "Come on, we have church." He motioned for her to get out.

She reached to grab the towel, but grabbed his wrist instead, yanking him into the shower with her. He quickly jumped back, having half of his body soaked through his clothes, it was her turn to laugh now.

"Now, you are lucky that I wasn't fully dressed." He scolded, referring to the grey hoodie that he still had on her bedroom floor.

"Mmm or what?" She mused seductively.

"You don't even wanna know, dollface." He growled as he looked her up and down.

"You gonna come in here and tell me that?" She retorted, swaying side to side with her back pressed against the tiles in the shower and an evil look in her eye. He managed to pull himself from the tempting proposal, knowing they had to be in church ASAP and peeling off the wet shirt quickly. Her eyes widened as she became entranced. "Yeah... Real lucky." She gawked as he stood in just his jeans, realizing that this was her first chance to _really _admire him: his strong body, warm skin, dark chest hair, he was _all_ man_. _

Tig just chuckled and shook his head before he walked out of the bathroom, leaving Sydney to towel her hair - leaving it to dry naturally in its curly, mermaidy fashion. She did some quick makeup, and got dressed, opting for a more casual outfit considering her lack of time to get ready: a white concert tee tied into a knot - exposing her midriff and concealing the love bites that littered her chest - distressed denim shorts, and white converse.

She figured that Tig had made his way to the clubhouse while she was getting ready, but as she neared the staircase she could smell freshly brewed coffee coming from the kitchen. Taking a deep breath to calm the flipping her stomach was doing, she waltzed down the stairs, nearing the end of the hallway where she saw a to-go cup and a cinnamon raisin bagel waiting on the island while Tig sipped his coffee, leaning against the counter. She bit her lip, trying to tone down the grin that was creeping across her face as she looked down and walked to the island, placing her palms on it and leaning against them, swaying from side to side gently.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about taking care of me." She mused, eyes burning into him as she gave him a cocky half smirk.

"Is that your natural hair?" She snorted in surprise at his comment.

"Yes. You aint only one with unruly curls around these here parts anymore, Mr. Trager." He laughed at her sheriff's voice, placing his coffee cup in the sink.

She grabbed her breakfast and car keys, heading towards the door when she felt a gentle tugging on her hand. She turned to face him as he stroked his fingers up her arm, slowly reaching up to rest on either side of her head against the door behind her, effectively boxing her in.

"You know darlin... One of these days I'm gonna stop letting you walk away." His voice was low with a note of vulnerability, rather than the lust she'd expected.

She looked down nervously and giggled, looking back up to meet his deep blue gaze. "Yeah Tiggy, I know."

The game of cutting each other off and slamming the brakes was back in full swing as Sydney and Tig slowly made their way to the clubhouse. Sydney was approaching a stop sign successfully getting Tig stuck behind another driver. Thinking she was in the clear, she sipped her coffee, not expecting him to cross the yellow line into oncoming traffic and swerve in front of her, feet away from the stop. The angry revving of his engine filled her ears as he passed her open window, she quickly moved her cup away so that the coffee wouldn't spill on her white shirt, instead dousing the black leather of the passenger seat.

He looked back at her and laughed before she cranked the wheel, pulling beside him while blocking the oncoming lane. "You're detailing my interior for that!" She yelled at him.

He snorted, "You think so, Princess? Don't play if you can't keep up." His tires spun as he hastily sped away.

Sydney went full throttle, cutting through side streets and alleyways, praying that her shortcut and high speed would mix with his confusion and give her the edge. She sped through the parking lot at TM, tires screeching to a halt as she parked, smiling a giant toothy grin as she looked down the line of Harleys to see Tig's missing from it.

As she was getting out of the car, Tig pulled in and she could see the shock on his face from across the lot as he rolled his Dyna into formation.

Half-Sack, Jax and Chibs had all run out to the lot when they saw Sydney hurtling through the compound like a mad woman. "What's the matter darlin?" Jax exclaimed with concern, checking her over.

"Nothing?" She said with furrowed brows, toying with them as she turned and walked away as if this was always how she drove. They all shared looks of confusion before they ran after her, catching up right as she was passing Tig, who was putting his helmet on his bike and actively avoiding her gaze.

"Hey Sergeant, don't play if you can't keep up." She taunted with an evil smile as she winked, tossing her keys over her shoulder while walking towards the clubhouse. "I want her squeaky clean!"

Jax raised his eyebrows and smirked in amusement. "Really brother?"

"Hey! I let her win."

Chibs snorted dramatically. "Im sure ye did."

"Yeah yeah, get goin on it." Tig shoved the keys to the Dodge into Half-Sacks chest and walked off towards his dorm.

Juice walked into the chapel behind Sydney, noticing that something was off. "What?" She squinted when she turned around to see him scowling at her.

"You're way shorter than I remember?" She snorted and looked at her feet.

"Yeah, took your advice on the heels, don't get used to it." She rolled her eyes.

Sydney noticed another new man at the table while everyone took their seats. Sitting by Bobby and Jax with a painfully black expression was Opie Winston. She'd only seen him at the wedding where strangely she didn't speak to him, but from what she gathered, with the way his wife was - he didn't speak to anyone.

Tig was the last one in after returning to his dorm to change out of last night's wet clothes. Sydney didn't miss the knowing look that Clay gave him, looking back to see Jax giving her the same one. She couldn't hide her bashful smile, opting for an eye roll.

"Jesus. Matching hickeys yesterday, matching hairstyles today, what's tomorrow?" Juice exclaimed, glancing between Sydney and Tig.

"That coming from the guy who's had a faux hawk since the ninth grade?" Sydney's lips curled up at Tig's jab.

Clay chuckled. "Got word from Trammel, our little fiesta last night was a success." Sydney beamed, banging on the table and cheering with everybody. "Got most of our AKs back, but no luck on the glocks. We came across an unexpected surprise, Darby's teamed up with Alvarez."

"What?" Juice exclaimed in disbelief.

"He floods Charming with crank, Alvarez takes over our gun business to protect it." Tig interjected.

"We sent them a pretty clear message." Clay looked over at Half-Sack to confirm that he had buried the Nord, getting a nod and returning an approving one. "Keep your ears open for word on the street about any of their next moves, including where the rest of our hardware might be, Laroy's gettin impatient." Everyone nodded before Clay reached for the gavel, but stopped himself. "Sorry about your kid Ope, hope everything is alright."

"Yeah. She is, thanks." Sydney heard clear as day that Clay was being insincere and by the cold tone in Opie's voice, it seemed that he did too.

The uneventful church session that served as a privy was concluded and Sydney's eyes were immediately met with the infamous stare of Gemma Teller as she excited the chapel.

"Hey stranger." Gemma greeted the little blonde girl with a suggestive tone and a side glance.

"Hey mom." Sydney giggled, smiling back at her.

"I heard the princess had another successful night." Sydney cocked an eyebrow in response, wondering which _success_ the older woman was referring to. Gemma nodded slowly, turning back to continue cleaning the bar fridge. "But what I didn't hear was Tigger returning back to his dorm last night… You know anything about that?" Sydney's face went red as her nervous smile came back. "That's what I thought." The matriarch smirked, nodding her approval.

Sydney headed home in her freshly cleaned vehicle. Not having to work in the office or the bar today, she passed out on her couch soon after eating lunch and putting on the cooking channel, catching up on some much needed sleep after the mental and physical toll of the last two days. She awoke to her phone ringing a couple of hours later, coaxing her from her peaceful afternoon snooze.

"Hey Gem." She blinked a few times, trying to wake herself up as she waited to hear what the Matriarch was calling about.

"Hey sweetheart, you wanna come down to the clubhouse tonight? We're havin a little get together to celebrate Ope gettin outta the joint."

"Uh... Sure, but didn't he get out weeks ago?"

Gemma scoffed, clearly unsure about Opie. "Yeah, but apparently 'he's back in business with the club', no more of this half in half out bullshit."

"I sure hope so… I'll see you soon. Need me to bring anything?"

"Yeah. A muzzle for your old man. Won't shut up about you." Sydney's entire body twitched when she heard her refer to Tig as her old man, blushing as she wondered what he was saying. Gemma snickered as if she could see her face through the phone. "I'll explain when you get here, see you soon." Sydney clutched the phone to her chest after she hung up before realizing she was alone in her house and able to release some excitement. She screeched and danced around her living room, running up the stairs to get ready.

Her hair had air-dried decently so she pulled it into a low chignon at the side of her head, securing it with two black chopsticks, leaving a few pieces out around the front to frame her face. She redid her makeup to meet her usual standards of a matte brown eye and nude pink lip. She wore a black button down dress that fell mid thigh, a modest neckline for once - nicely concealing her red and purple love bites. With a feeling that she would end up in Tig's room tonight, she wanted something that would get his blood pumping: a dress that he could rip open and a lacey black bra and panty set seemed adequate. She stepped into her usual platform Louboutin's and with a spritz of perfume, she was out the door.

By the time she arrived, it was only 7:30 P.M. but the party was in full swing with bikers and babes everywhere. She felt her senses coming to life as she soaked up the atmosphere she loved so much, walking over to the fighting ring where Tig and Happy were going at it for the crowd. Seeing Tig angry and throwing punches sent a wave through her body which resulted in a heat between her legs.

"Beer?" She heard someone ask quietly from behind her as a hand reached out, passing her a Corona. She smiled sweetly when she realized it was Half-Sack. Her lips curled up when an idea came to her, grabbing his hand and pulling him closer. "Damn, you could take someone's eye out with those." She chuckled as he referred to her long stiletto shaped nails.

Tig saw Sydney out of the corner of his eye, temporarily losing focus and allowing Happy to get a good hit in. The recoil gave him a clear view of her leaning over to kiss the prospect on the cheek, brushing his hand with hers.

Half-Sack looked like he could've pissed his pants, and just as Sydney had predicted, Tig took Happy to the ground in his moment of rage. "Hey c'mon! That's no fair!" He protested jokingly.

"Eh, Hap deserves it." She chuckled before sauntering towards Tig who was towelling off on the sidelines, a croweater fighting for his attention as she tried to patch him up - knowing he didn't need it. The red-head caught a glimpse of Sydney heading towards her and quickly scurried off.

"Hey killer." Sydney called to Tig who looked up with a smug smile, quickly looking back down at the ground.

"Hi doll… Didn't know you were comin tonight." He said nonchalantly while rubbing the back of his neck, trying to keep his cool after seeing her with the prospect.

"You aren't happy to see me?" She pouted.

His eyes darted around, looking for Half-Sack. Her lips curled up from her fake frown as she ran her hands up his heaving chest, regaining his attention as he looked down and saw that evil look in her eye.

"What's the matter Tigger? Pussycat got your tongue?" A cocky grin forming as she felt him shudder, glancing down to see that he was hard as a rock. She cocked her eyebrows in satisfaction before pulling away, her hands sliding down the smooth leather of his kutte when he grabbed her wrists firmly, yanking them back towards him.

She watched his entire demeanour change from a coy and bashful man, to a dominant one stalking his prey. He leaned in close to her face, his eyes cold as ice.

"You better stop playin games with me."

Sydney leaned in, lips not more than an inch from his as she practically spoke into his mouth. "Now what would be the fun in that?" She flashed a sinister smile.

He tightened his grip. "I will not go easy on you, dollface." He said through grit teeth.

Sydney was so turned on, she could feel the tingling between her legs, wanting to strip down and fuck him right there. She bit her lip in response, looking up into his eyes as hers became hooded with lust. He looked over her expression before snorting.

"You keep it up, I won't care what your answer is." He had let her have control for far too long. With the sexual frustration out of his system, he was going to show her who was _really _in charge.

"Tigger! Let's go!" Bobby was screaming from the entrance to the clubhouse, startling Tig as he let up on his grip. This acted as Sydney's saving grace, regaining her composure.

"People need ya Sarge." She patted his chest.

"You too Princess!" Bobby craned his neck back and yelled, her face going white.

Tig chortled sadistically. "Looks like I'm not the only one in popular demand." He slapped her ass, earning a yelp of surprise when his hand made contact. "Point for me. Get goin." His voice was a playful growl, pointing to the clubhouse door as he walked past her.

Gemma was sitting at a picnic table, having a cigarette as she observed the party, the look on her face telling Sydney that she had seen their entire exchange. The green eyed woman sighed deeply, sitting down at the table, putting her head down in defeat and shaking with humourless laughter.

"Sydney." Gemma said firmly in her notoriously motherly way bringing her head snapping straight up. "Just do it. Take the risk. You're both too damn stubborn, one of you needs to have the balls to take the step." Sydney surrendered, putting her face in her hands.

"I guess I'm just... Ugh I don't know. I've never had to deal with this, I don't want things to change." She groaned.

"Things will change sweetheart, but you keep going the way you're going? One of you will end up hurt. Trust me, that man doesn't know a lot about relationships either, hell he's probably more terrified than you are. He has hardly known any love in his life." She shook her head in sorrow for one of her closest friends. "If you have feelings for him, you need to tell him." Sydney didnt respond, keeping her gaze fixed on the peeling paint of the picnic table as she weighed her options. "Honey, I have known Tigger for decades. Not once have I ever seen him look at anything the way he looks at you, not even that damn bike." Sydney relented with a laugh. "Give him a chance to prove that he has what it takes, prove to yourself that you have what it takes." She bit her lip and smiled at Gemma's ability to tell her exactly what she needed to hear, nodding quickly and convincing herself that it was the right move.

"Okay. Thanks Gem."

She reached out and grabbed Sydney's hand, giving it a squeeze. "You're welcome baby." She smiled.

Tig turned around when he approached the bar and realized that Sydney wasn't behind him. "God dammit." He muttered to himself, craning his neck to look out the doorway to see her talking to Gemma, his expression softening. _Off the hook this time_.

"Hey there Tiggy." He felt a large hand grip his shoulder. "Got it bad huh?" He looked confused until he followed Clay's gaze out the door, pointing his beer in the direction of the two beautiful women. "You movin in on that?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Guess you could say that…" He responded wearily, unsure of what his President would have to say about a potentially distracting relationship. "Think I should?" Clay raised an eyebrow.

"Think you'd be an idiot not to. Damn tart gives me a stiffy every time she opens that pretty little mouth."

"Yeah, I know the feelin." Tig laughed with his friend.

"You like her dont ya?"

Tig stiffened. "She's a sweet piece of ass man." He pursed his lips, trying to play it off but faltered, Sydney was the furthest thing from some halfway decent gash to bury himself in.

The white haired man wasn't buying it, he deepened his discerning stare. "Lots of sweet pieces of ass around this place, don't see ya treat em like that… You even let her ride bitch." His glance reminded Tig that he hadn't let anyone ride bitch since _her_.

"Thought you always said pussy was a distraction." Tig countered. He wasn't wrong, Clay had spent years conditioning Tig to be his perfect right hand - ridding him of distractions like women and children.

"Listen brother I think we both know she ain't just pussy, probably the only gash out there who'd keep you more focused with her than you are without. Get it done. Before someone else does." He patted his Sergeant on the shoulder before heading outside and leaving him alone with his conscience. _Fuck he's right. Young, tight little thing like Kitten? No way she's gonna last here before someone snatches her up from themselves. _

Sydney was met by Clay on her way through the clubhouse, politely nodding at her President in passing. "Princess. Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course boss. What's up?" Sydney knew that she had done nothing but exceed Clay's expectations, but something about the man managed to fill her with anxiety every time he spoke - she masked it of course, no one would ever have had any idea just how terrified she was of him.

"You're doin good here. Wanted to tell you myself. I ain't been impressed like that in a long time."

She smiled proudly. "Thank you. It means a lot. I'm happy here." She truly meant what she said, wanting him to know that.

"I'm glad to hear that, sweetheart."

Tig looked over and saw Sydney speaking with Clay, wondering if she was getting the same interrogation that he'd gotten. "Now you wanna tell me what's really goin on with Tigger?" Clay switched gear, his tone sounded playful but firm enough that Sydney knew his question wasn't a question, it was a demand.

"Save it Pres. Your old lady already gave me the beat down about it." She snickered and rolled her eyes.

"You don't care about the opinion of your President?"

"Depends what his opinion is…" She challenged with a smirk. "I know that the club comes first." She retreated, giving a curt nod.

"I aint got a problem with it, you're the best thing i've seen happen to that crazy prick. Think he could use an ol' lady to hold him down. He aint ever had someone that understands the life." He explained. "And I think we both know you can keep up with his uh… Blood lust." He grinned.

She smirked. "That I can." She nodded slowly, processing his words.

"As long as it don't interfere with business, you got my blessing. I think you would have your old man's too." He added the last bit quietly, knowing that it was the final push she needed, whether she knew it or not.

His words took her aback, all of the thoughts she'd subconsciously blocked out being brought to the surface once her dad was mentioned. She tried her best to ignore the grimness and the guilt, instead thinking about what he would tell her to do: which would be to follow her heart, allow herself to give what she had to offer.

Clay pulled her into a hug. "He would be proud of you sweetheart." Sydney squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears back into place.

"Thanks Clay… I promise I'll keep him in line." She chuckled, lightening the mood.

"I have no doubt that you will." He joined her light chuckling.

Sydney finally met up with Tig, Bobby, Opie, and Juice by the pool table where Half-Sack scurried up, carrying a bottle of Jagermiester and 6 shot glasses.

"Okay we're all here, ready?"

"For what?" Sydney scowled.

"Darts." Juice stated.

She snorted, raising an eyebrow in response to how serious the guys seemed about a game of darts. "Wow, you boys got me all worked up thinking we were playing strip poker." She pouted, seeing a couple eyes go wide.

"Nah, see it's not that simple, sweetheart." Tig sensed her confusion, his condescending voice came out as he draped his arm over her shoulders. "You hit a bullseye, you make anyone do anything you want. You hit the board, you ask a question, like never have I ever. Everyone who has, takes a shot. You miss the board, you do a dare."

She snorted. "Wow... What's next? Spin the bottle or Bloody Mary?" She teased, earning a few snickers but nobody was letting up. She laughed and put her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I'll bite. Who's up first?"

"Bobby!" Tig yelled aggressively before the older man threw the first dart, hitting close to the bullseye and groaning at his almost victory.

"Never have I ever..." Half-Sack lined up the shot glasses. "Taken one up the ass." Sydney laughed at Bobby's question, obviously saving himself from having to take a shot, her eyes widening when Tig and Juice took their shots.

"County…. Favour for the club." Juice sighed shamefully.

Sydney nodded with pursed lips in amusement, trying not to laugh. She looked up at Tig and raised an eyebrow, daring to ask for his explanation. "My old man used to rape me." He said nonchalantly, almost humorously, with a shrug.

"It all makes sense…" Juice pondered aloud.

A few more turns were taken; Opie hit a bullseye, daring Half-Sack to go and tell Gemma that she gives him a 'MILF chubby', which didn't go over too well with Clay… Leaving Half-Sack dreading how he would be paying for that later on.

While everyone was paying attention to the poor prospect, Sydney felt Tig's hand trail on the back of her thigh, trailing up and under her dress. His daring touch made her shiver, refusing to make eye contact. He pushed her up against the pool table which was unoccupied despite the busy party, serving to block anyone in the open room from seeing what he was doing as he squeezed her ass. She grimaced as his hand made it's way around her body, knowing he was about to bust her as he began rubbing her over her panties because she was already soaking wet from watching him fight.

"Already wet for me Princess?" She heard the satisfied chuckle in her ear, a shiver tracing it's way up her spine. She bit her lip as her legs started to buckle, grabbing his wrist to try and make him stop unsuccessfully.

"Watching you fight was hot." She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder, breathing into his neck under his ear as she tilted to the side, her tongue touching his skin as the words left her lips. She was grasping at straws, figuring that maybe, just _maybe,_ throwing him the bone might give him the satisfaction that he craved enough to stop his assault on her in the middle of the clubhouse, but of course she was wrong.

He finally removed his hand, straightening her dress while she trembled and Half-Sack made his way back, everything about the way he moved had her yearning for more.

"You know you guys probably just cost me my rocker right?" The kid whined, shaking his head as he got back to the circle.

Juice's turn came, throwing a halfway decent shot. "Okay I'll save you." He patted Sydney on the shoulder. "Never have I ever made out with a woman."

She scowled deeply at Juice's naivety, loving yet another chance to shock everyone. Juice held her gaze as she reached for her shot glass, his eyes widening as she downed the liquor.

Tig grinned. "See, told ya it was a girlfriend thing." He winked, making a mental note to press her for more information on it later, for _scientific reasons _\- of course_. _

A couple more darts hit the board and the usual questions came about. On Sydney's turn, she threw off to the right. Saving herself from the alcohol, she questioned: "Never have I ever... Had my dick sucked." Her lips curled up slightly as everyone took their shots, except Half-Sack. He looked so embarrassed but she couldn't help but laugh, grabbing his shoulder and massaged it lightly.

"Don't worry Kippy, I'll be your wing-woman." She winked and he smiled.

It was Bobby's turn again, he was pretty drunk and ended up just barely hitting the dart-board, looking right into Sydney's eyes as he spoke. "Never have I ever been fucked against the wall in the clubhouse bathroom." She didn't break the stare, leaning on her palms on the pool table, not showing any emotion on her face as she stood perfectly still.

"Hey no cheating!" Juice pointed at her and yelled.

Sydney cocked her head. "It was against the sink… Better luck next time old man." She winked. The guys stared at her in disbelief, Tig shrugged in confirmation, taken aback by her clever response.

Juice hit a bullseye, daring Sydney to try and lift a gun off of one of the older men at the bar, sure she would fail.

"Ah I see now, this little dart game is initiation." She smirked, nodded as she spoke slowly in realization. "Watch and learn boys." She shook her head to herself at their naivety as she walked over to the man at the bar, swinging her hips. "Hey honey! You havin a good time?" Sydney cooed, pressing her hips against his thigh, playing with the lapel of his shirt with her right hand while opening the holster with her left.

"I am now." He bit his lip.

"Hey, you want another beer?" She pointed behind him, swiftly snatching the gun as he turned around to look for the imaginary bottle. "Oh my bad sweetheart, I'm seeing double. She'll help you." Her gesture shifted to the brunette crow who was working the bar. She winked, slowly trailing her fingers down his blue plaid shirt and walking back to her group, gun in hand. She tossed the revolver over to Juice quickly who flinched out of his trance and fumbled to catch it.

"I think I'm in love." Opie dreamily remarked to Tig, who chuckled.

"Yeah…. Me too." He answered just as dreamily, not taking his eyes off of Sydney as he patted Ope on the chest.

Tig gripped Sydney's thigh while Opie was lined up his shot, hitting the board with no bullseye this time. She continued to refuse eye contact, but unfortunately her body and her mind weren't on the same page because she was quivering at his touch.

"Never have I ever been in love." Opie stated simply, figuring it would be an easy shot for everyone. Half-Sack and Juice stood their ground proudly, Sydney hesitated for a second but built up the courage and grabbed the shot glass, downing the Jager.

Tig's eyes twinkled as he tried to figure out what it meant. _Did she just admit she's in love with me?_ _No… There's no goddamn way… Is there? _He didn't know what to think but he knew that tonight was his chance to find out.

The Sergeant himself was up next, hitting a bullseye - thanks to the pressure. Sydney should've known that a man as lethal as him would do best under pressure, inhaling sharply and closing her eyes, knowing she would be suffering for this one.

"Okay Princess… You think you can show us men up, do what we can do." He shrugged. "Why don't you show us somethin we can't do." He glanced up to the stripper pole where Jessica was dancing in her green stripper bikini.

"No way." Sydney protested.

"C'mon pussycat. You wanted to play strip poker, I'm speedin up the process for ya." He pressed.

"It's the name of the game sweetheart." Juice shrugged. Sydney ran her tongue across her teeth, her expression was hard, not letting up.

"I'll tell ya what darlin, I'll give you a shot. You hit a bullseye - I let it slide, as a sign of… Good faith. But anything else and you're gettin up on that pole."

"Fine." She agreed, ripping his dart out of the board dramatically.

She put one foot in front of the other, closing one eye as she lined up her shot, bending her knee just as she threw the dart, hitting the wall just beside it earning an uproar of whistling and hollering in victory.

"You don't play fair." Sydney pouted angrily to the curly haired man who was grinning down at her.

"Too bad. Let's go." Tig growled, motioning to her body.

"Fuck you guys." She spit out and stormed down the hall. They all chuckled as they watched the little firecracker throw her temper tantrum, something they'd been waiting to see her do.

Tig was left confused. From everything he had seen of Sydney, he didn't expect her to crack under their hassling, especially after she so willingly gave him a lapdance in front of everybody less than a week ago. He stood with a creased brow, wondering where the line was when he crossed it, realizing that maybe the thought of Sydney being too good to be true had clouded his judgement, making him overestimate the young girl.

Half-Sack chuckled and walked away after glancing at his phone. "What do you think he's so happy about?" Juice asked, watching him walk away with a goofy smile on his face after he'd spent the last hour sulking.

"Maybe Sydney came through with someone to suck his dick." Bobby suggested with a husky laugh. Tig and Juice joined the older man in laughing when 'Pornstar Dancing' started playing through the speakers, filling the bar and getting some party goers excited as they moved to the dance floor.

Opie had an angry scowl on his face, deeper than his usual one. "You guys shouldn't fuck around with her like that." Granted, he hadn't seen anything Sydney had done the last few days, and he was not at the same level of privy as that of his father, having no idea at all what she was capable of.

"Uh... I think she can handle it." Juice said in shock as he watched Sydney walking down the hallway, shaking out her hair and unbuttoning her dress - not taking his eyes off of her while slapping Bobby's shoulder repeatedly, oblivious to the fact that his elder's attention was already on her.

Sydney locked eyes with the men, smile evil as ever as she opened her dress and handed it to Half-Sack who offered her his hand as she stepped onto the podium. She shared a smile with Jessica and the two began putting on a show. If these boys were going to underestimate her, she was going to teach them a damn lesson.

She thanked her instincts for the matching bra and panty set, even if it wasn't serving the purpose that she had originally intended for it. As the song picked up, she twisted and stalked around the pole, running her hands up Jessica's body and dancing on her. Tig was wide eyed as he walked over to the podium to watch her. She dropped low, grabbing his hand and dragging it up her leg, then slapping it away as she stood back up to continue her dance.

"What the hell!" Gemma exclaimed as she walked over to Opie, Bobby and Juice who were all drooling from afar.

"D-darts" Juice stammered.

Sydney rounded the pole again, stomping her foot right between Tigs fingers on the stage, her lips curling into a cocky smile when he didn't flinch.

Half-Sack waited by the sidestep, holding Sydney's dress as the song ended, willing himself not to look at her and risk a beatdown from the entranced Sergeant. Sydney walked over to the sidestep and sat down on it, watching Tig stiffly walk over to her, looking up at her as she leaned back slightly, slowly spreading her legs in front of him.

"You like what you see Tigger?" She cooed, pressing the sole of her shoe to his stomach, slowly dragging it up his chest, around his neck, lowering her heel to allow the stiletto to come up under his neck as she grazed it across horizontally.

He was completely captivated, all he could do was nod slowly and try to keep his saliva in his mouth. "Mmm good." She hummed as she wrapped her foot around the back of his head, pulling him into her crotch slowly before swiftly swinging her foot back around and snapping her legs shut.

Her eyes were full of fire as people watched the exchange in bewilderment, holding out her hand to him."Help me down, would ya Sarge?" After he obliged, Sydney made to grab her dress from Half-Sack but Tig quickly ripped it out of his hands, holding it open and helping her shrug back into it. She raised a brow, mouth slightly ajar as she smirked at him, turning to walk away - buttoning her dress back up as she walked over to the pool table.

"Satisfied?" The eyes of the men were all on her exposed cleavage as they nodded, not bothering to even try and hide their gawking. "Good. We should play again sometime." She shrugged and smiled eagerly, walking over to the bar.

"Holy shit!" The croweater behind the bar squealed. Sydney didn't even know the poor girl's name, but she appreciated the compliment anyways. "Girl, you even got my pussy wet with that show."

Sydney smiled. "Thanks love, can you grab me a beer?"

"Two, on me." Tig stepped in beside her, grabbing the beers from the crow and walking to a secluded table near the entrance of the bar.

The brunette gave Sydney _the look_ after Tig's display, making her chuckle and roll her eyes, getting up to follow him when she stopped, remembering that her perfect performance wouldn't have been possible without Half-Sack as her DJ.

"Hey!" Sydney nodded to the crow. "My friend over there - the prospect, he helped me tonight and he's never been… Properly taken care of before." She mused. "Do you think you could help him for me?"

"Yeah!." Sydney flashed a toothy grin and winked, loving the way that she could control the crows like she was a Son. She watched the club slut walk over to Half-Sack, he looked uncomfortable until he caught Sydney's wink across the room, immediately letting her lead him down the hall to the back storage room.

Sydney walked over to Tig, seating on the barstool at the table while he stood leaning against it. The second she was comfortably seated, her stool was being grabbed and slammed against the wall.

"Didn't know you could dance like that darlin." He placed a hand on the wall behind her, getting close to her lips as his free hand went right up her dress, wasting no time.

"There's a lot about me that you don't know, Tiggy." She teased, grunting as she felt him yank her panties to the side and shove two fingers directly into her tight slit with no warm up.

Sydney was met with the same hunger in his eyes that she had seen that night in the bathroom: the frustration, the determination. She was terrified but in the best way possible. She wanted to milk this - swallowing her moan, trying her hardest not to give him the satisfaction he craved.

"You're not playing fair." She choked out as her body slid forward. He pushed further into her, grabbing her hip with his free hand and using it to press her against the wall. She bit her tongue as the deeper penetration sent a wave of shocking pleasure through her body, the feeling of his hands on her so boldly was almost enough to have her breaking.

"No. I'm not." He growled, his hand pushing her away when she leaned in to kiss him, pinning her back against the wall. "Nah. You're gonna sit here and look pretty while we have a little chat." He moved his hand to her thigh, pushing it down and holding it in place to keep her from squirming while he pumped his fingers into her roughly. "Got it?" She nodded, her eyes beginning to water from the restraint she'd put on herself. "Use your words, Princess" He whispered without a trace of softness in his voice. This was now about possession.

"Yes."

"Yes what." He demanded.

Her lips curled up slightly in defiance before a strong wave of pleasure washed over her face, her hand flying to grip his bicep when his thumb clamped down on her clit.

"Yes Sergeant." She bit her lip, trying to maintain eye contact to the best of her abilities, occasionally losing control when her eyes would involuntarily roll back or squeeze shut. A switch flipped in her once the pet name escaped her throat, all the events of the night connecting in her brain, the epiphany allowing her to regain some control of her body this time, not just her mind. "You love this shit don't you?" She sneered low, leaning close to his face as his body stiffened. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders, looking deep into his eyes with a fiery stare that almost scared him. Instead of letting his fingers control her movements, she began rolling her hips to meet the thrusts of his digits. The sly grin didn't fade from his face, but the lusty realization in his eyes gave his shock away.

"I see right through you. You wish you could be possessive, angry, hide away what's yours. But you're just as sick as I am. You love that everyone got to look at me like that, got to see _your _marks on me." She moaned for dramatic effect as she rode his fingers, feeling him twitch at the sound. "Knowing that you're the only one who gets to fuck me." Her breathy words were hot on his skin. He growled terrifyingly low, his blue eyes darkening significantly before taking control of her body yet again, curling his fingers against that sweet little spot that drove her crazy, making her realize that he had _let _her have temporary control.

"Yeah, I do. You ain't so innocent either, dollface. You've been thinkin about this for weeks - me touching you, runnin around here like a damn tease, toying with me like a little brat when I know how much you love sitting here with my hands on you. You can lie to me all you want, but your pussy can't."

"You love that I'm your naughty little girl." She scoffed cockily.

He cocked his head to the side, massaging her g-spot even faster. "You remember when I told you that good girls get taken care of?"

"Y-yes Sergea-nt." She struggled, finally managing to breathe the words out.

"Well, bad girls get punished." He growled, ripping his fingers out of her, snapping her legs and walking away, leaving Sydney completely stunned.

* * *

**No Coronavirus pun intended, all the offense intended Juice :/ (sorry not sorry)**

_**Songs for this chapter:**_

_**Pornstar Dancing - My Darkest Days**_

_**How Dat Sound - Trey Songz (ft. 2 Chainz & Yo Gotti)**_


	10. Forfeit

**Y'all have been giving the best support and it means the world to me, please review! (it makes my day)**

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 10: FORFEIT**

Sydney took a few minutes to catch her breath, smiling when Jax walked over to her at the table she remained seated at. "You okay there darlin?" He questioned, noticing her heavy breathing and red cheeks.

"Yeah! Just hot in here, ya know." She gave a weak attempt to throw him off, focusing all of her energy on calming herself down.

"Yeah... Sure is." He gave her a discerning look mirroring that of his mothers. "That was quite the show you put on back there." He smirked.

"Sure was." She chuckled. "I hear this dart game you guys play around here is no joke, just tryin to live up to the expectations."

"I think you've done a little more than that." She smiled, looking down at the table.

"Yeah, I guess I have." Her cheeks flushed again as she caught Tig's icy blue gaze from where he stood at the bar. "I'm gonna go get some air. See you around VP." Excusing herself from the table, she squeezed the blonde man's bicep, giving Tig a little something more to look at if he insisted on watching her.

She exited the clubhouse, relieved to be ridding her body of some tension with the cool air, seeing that the large crowd in the parking lot had cleared with the exception of a few stragglers smoking at the picnic tables.

"Hey Gem, can I get a smoke?" Sydney asked as she approached the King and Queen at the picnic table they shared.

"Sure thing sweetheart." Gemma caught the distressed look across the face of the young girl as she bent down for a light. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Sydney nodded quickly, straightening up. "Just hot that's all." She exhaled the smoke while she gave a further explanation, knowing that a simple 'yes' or 'no' would not please the matriarch.

"Yeah… I'm sure you are."

"I woulda thought you'd be cold after your little dance number." Clay teased with a sarcastic shrug.

"Yeah… One would think." Sydney turned and walked away quickly, trying to hide the embarrassment as Clay and Gemma giggled. She rounded the side of the clubhouse where nobody was lingering, needing a few minutes to collect herself and catch her racing breath.

Tig walked out of the bar when Sydney didn't return in a timely fashion, looking around the compound for the glimpse of white hair that would give her away.

"Hey Tiggy!" Clay called from the picnic table, pointing around the side of the building where Sydney had gone.

"Think it's gonna work?" Gemma questioned her husband wearily.

"Baby, with those two? I can't predict a goddamn thing."

"I never thought I would be playing cupid for Tigger." She sighed, the two laughing as they watched Tig round the building.

Sydney stood with her back to the cold brick wall - head tilted back and eyes closed, trying to control her breathing when a familiar scent of whiskey, tobacco and cologne flooded her airway. She inhaled with a smile, not opening her eyes as the feeling of his breathing on her neck intensified, adrenaline pumping while she waited for his touch. Her eyes flew open and a whimper escaped her lips when he finally brushed his fingers against her thigh, the cold rings sending a shock through her body.

"You're becoming easier and easier to surprise, Princess." He taunted.

"Just letting you get ahead, Sergeant."

"I don't think you're in a position to be actin tough." He scoffed.

She looked down, becoming aware of her predicament with his hand on her thigh - getting closer and closer to the danger zone and his other arm bent against the wall beside her, giving her no clear way out. He removed his arm from the wall, brushing the back of his hand against her chest, over her tattoo - twisting his fingers to tangle in her hair behind her neck, pulling down to expose her throat to him. His lips ghosted over her skin, his tongue trailing over her pulse and up her neck before nibbling on her earlobe, all while gently rubbing her over her panties. His skillful digits gently danced their way up to the waist band, running along the edge of the lace and sending pulsations through her body, the arousal almost reaching it's boiling point. He slowly slid his hand into the dainty barrier, swirling her clit lazily with his fingertips, the long awaited movements earning a shaky gasp from her pouty lips.

"Knew I'd get you moaning for me again, Pussycat." He gloated with a cocky grin.

She cursed herself for letting it slip but she couldn't handle it anymore, everything Gemma and Clay had said to her had mixed with the burning desire for him that she couldn't seem to extinguish. Her hand flew to the back of his head, gripping his dark curls and pulling him to her lips where she kissed him aggressively, their teeth clashing in the heat of the moment. Her free hand got to work on his belt buckle, brushing against his wrist while his hand marinated in the heat between her legs before he removed it, grabbing her wrist pinning it against the wall behind her - stopping her efforts. She pulled away and looked up at him questioningly when he put a stop to the exhibitionism - something she thought he would've been excited about.

"You done playing games?" He danced around the real question with a husk in his voice and a stern look on his face.

She peered up into his crystal clear eyes through her dark eyelashes, unable to make herself say the foreign words. After a few moments of stoney silence, she felt her other hand being ripped from the softness of his hair, joining the other in his tight grip against the rough surface of the brick wall behind her. Once she was secured in place, he used his free hand to yank her hair back, forcing her to look into his eyes.

All of her efforts went down the drain, the bruteness of his force turning her on so intensely that she didn't even remember what the right answer was. "Fuck me Tiggy." She begged, panting as waves of heat rushed over her body.

"So I can fuck this pussy like it's mine, huh?" He scoffed, looking her up and down. "Nah, I don't think I will." Venom laced his tone as he continued to rake over her form animalistically. "I think I'll leave you here, dripping for me, so that every time you move, you won't forget who you belong to." If she wasn't done playing games, then neither was he.

Sydney's face fell when he revealed his plot. It made sense to her now - the teasing, making sure she knew who was really in charge. She didn't let up on her stare, if anything it only hardened as he challenged her further by denying her what she wanted most, biting her lip in contemplation as he let go of her arms and pushed off of the wall, waltzing back inside.

She let a heavy breath go once he rounded the corner of the building, not realizing what a restraint she'd put on her breathing while he towered over her. She groaned, stomping her foot in frustration, wishing that she hadn't wasted her cigarette from Gemma. Admitting defeat would be a first for Sydney and although she knew it was worth it, she wasn't taking kindly to being checkmated.

Tig was standing on the outskirts of the dancefloor, chatting up two blondes when Sydney walked back into the crowded room - even with two ready and willing whores standing before him, she was the only one he saw. He felt a hand press against his chest as Cheryl attempted to regain his attention.

"I knew you would come back to me Tiggy, you always do."

He grabbed her hand, removing it from his chest and squeezing it reassuringly to divert the relentlessly persistent woman. "Yeah doll." He smiled politely, his eyes shifting back to the only blonde that he cared to go back to.

Cheryl's face fell in confusion as she turned to follow Tig's gaze, looking for whatever had caught his eye when she was violently pulled back by her hair, her frail body almost bending in half. She gasped, her friend catching her before she could hit the ground, helping her steady herself.

"Go get me a beer." Cheryl heard the harsh command from the new girl, _Sydney Harding _\- the stupid little slut who thought she could come in here and turn all of the men away from her, _especially_ Cheryl's favorite. Her expression deepened as her skin seemed to melt even further into the hollows of her face, her chest heaving as she went to strike back, determined to wipe the cocky smirk of the face of the bitch who dared to order her around.

Tig's entire expression lit up as the shocking scene began before him - he had intended on riling Sydney up, but a catfight was far more than he could've hoped for.

"No!" Cheryl heard from her friend who grabbed her before she could lunge.

Emily Duncan pushed Cheryl back, giving her a look that told her she was playing with fire. "Sorry, Sydney." She nodded to the girl whom she'd learned her place from a few nights ago in Happy's dorm.

"Who the hell does she think she is! She's just like the rest of us, she doesn't tell us what to do-" Sydney crossed her arms and smirked as Cheryl began sneering her deluded account of the facts to her friend who just shook her head and led them toward the bar.

Sydney dramatically turned her head towards Tig with a raised brow. "Damn babe…" His hands gripped her waist, pulling her body against his. "Just when I was about to give up my dream of a catfight." He chuckled against her ear, his face tingling from the softness of her skin and her sweet smell.

Her fingers curled into the dark hair at the nape of his neck, holding him while he nuzzled her neck.

Cheryl stomped back over, holding out the Corona that she hadn't bothered to pop the cap off of, while looking out the door - refusing to watch as the younger woman dangled her prize in front of her.

Sydney swiped the bottle. Bringing it to her mouth, she clamped down on the crimped metal with her teeth - popping the cap off and spitting onto the ground with a clang, getting both Cheryl and Tig's attention as they made eye contact and quickly looked away.

An evil smirk was plastered on Sydney's face before she winked at Cheryl, sending her storming out of the clubhouse. "Sack!" She called the prospect over after she parted from Tig slightly. "Take this." She handed off the unwanted beverage, smirking under Tig's discerning expression.

"You just wanted me all to yourself didn't ya?" His arm circled her waist completely, pulling her body flush against his once again.

"Exactly." She stated, jumping at the opportunity to reveal her intentions without having to say it directly. "I wanted to make it up to you." She lowered her voice, tilting her lips towards his as they swayed in time with the music while he stared down at her smugly, spurring her on with the challenge. "Please." She begged. "Let me make it up to you." She placed a hand on his chest while she spoke innocently at his lips "I just wanna be a good girl for you, Sergeant." His eyes slipped closed as her plump lips trailed pleasure across his skin, placing butterfly kisses on his neck the way that she knew he wouldn't be able to resist. "Will you let me be your good girl?" She whispered breathily.

_God dammit she was good. _He nudged her forehead with his, regaining eye contact. "You wanna be my good girl? Show me." He demanded with a smirk, using her desperation to his advantage in every way possible - he didn't have a reputation as a sadist for nothing.

"You piece of shit." She bit her lip with a smile as she shook her head in mock anger, loving his dedication to her game - the game that she was about to forfeit.

"I told you I wouldn't go easy on you." He growled in her ear. She took one last look around the room, her eyes landing on Cheryl who was glaring at them from the doorway, the older woman giving her the push that she needed as she looked back up into Tig's eyes, her own fluttering nervously as she gave him a soft nod.

"You win." With that, she curled her hand around the back of his neck, yanking him down to meet her lips furiously, picking up right where they'd left off earlier with no regard for the crowded room as wolf whistles and cheers arose from the people who had been anxiously awaiting their union over the past few weeks.

"God dammit." Jax groaned, shaking his head regrettably.

"What? Had something with her?" Opie questioned his best friend as they watched the scene unfold.

"Nah…" Jax trailed off as Juice approached.

"Come on, pay up." He grinned at his blue eyed brother. Sydney had told him that she would slice his tattoos open if he told anyone about their candid conversation - but she didn't say anything about abusing the knowledge he gained from it. Her admission had made the hispanic man two hundred dollars richer as he made the rounds to collect his winnings from the bets he and his brothers had placed on how long it would take for the stubborn pair to finally bow under the pressure.

Tig matched Sydney's aggression, pushing her over to the pool table where he could hold her in place, gripping her hips as he ground his pelvis against her. "Take me." She whimpered into his mouth.

"Here?" The surprise was evident in his voice but not in his movements as he continued assaulting her lips with his own, biting and nipping teasingly.

"I don't care." He pulled away from her lips, looking over his shoulder to scan the crowded room and meeting the scowl of Happy Lowman as his dark eyes bore into them. He let go of her waist, grabbing her hand and leading her to his room instead, choosing the lesser of two evils in the Tacoma Killer's book.

Sydney grinned wildly as his tight grip dragged her down the hallway, stopping in front of his door where he dug into his pockets for his keys. She slipped her hand out of his, rounding his tall stature and standing between him and the door where she began unbuttoning her dress with a wicked smile.

Tig temporarily lost focus on the task at hand when she began unrobing, shaking his head and returning to his keys, jamming the correct one in the lock and shoving the door open. He tossed his keys onto the floor and flipped on the light before returning to her, cupping her face in his hands as he brought his lips back down to her bruisingly, pressing her up against the door, effectively slamming it shut before ripping her dress open.

She couldn't help but smile when he did exactly what she knew he was going to do. Tig felt her taunting smile against his lips, sending him further over the edge. "You gonna be my girl?" He broke away from her to see her looking up at him in his powerful stance through her eyelashes, unable to make herself say the words.

He scoffed, looking away from her with a humorless smile of amusement before swiftly crashing his lips back down on hers, pushing his tongue into his mouth and winding his fingers into her waved locks. He pulled back abruptly, yanking her down to the ground by her hair. "On your knees, dollface." He ordered, unbuckling his belt. If she wasn't going to say it, she was going to show it

Once again, his roughness had her happy to oblige, her thighs instinctively pressing together from the sound of his belt opening. He tugged his pants down, taking his boxers with them as his erection sprang free. He looked down at her, hungry as her big green eyes looked up at him submissively. This had become his favourite look on her: innocent and at his feet. There was something so rewarding being able to dominate such a powerful woman, knowing that she had a soft spot just for him made every cell in his body tingle.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb affectionately as she took him in her hand, tracing his length with her tongue a few times, effectively using the ring in her mouth to make him shiver. She swirled the tip before finally taking him into her mouth, her tongue massaging the underside as she took his cock further and further into the back of her throat. "Mm that's it baby, take it all." He cupped her cheeks as he began fucking her face gently, smirking when he increased the force of his thrusts a few times before reverting back to the managable pace he had started.

Sydney let her jaw go slack, letting him hit the back of her throat before she tightened her lips around him, her throat swallowing around him and making him groan in both intense shock and pleasure. The tiniest dimples formed in her cheeks as she smiled around his dick deep in her throat, satisfied that she had been able to take him off guard.

Tig's lip turned up in frustration when he saw the smug look on her face, launching him over the imaginary line he;d been teetering on. He pushed her off of him, bringing her to her feet with his hands firm around her biceps. He pulled her dress off all the way, spinning her around and bending her over the bed.

"Stop playing with me." He snarled through grit teeth, holding her arms behind her back.

She bit her lip as she smiled, looking down at the mattress. She felt the grip loosen on her arms but she knew better than to move them from the position he'd placed them, feeling his strong hands roaming over her ass cheeks, squeezing the plush before hearing the tearing of fabric. _Okay I deserved that _\- she thought with a grimace.

Tig knew by the heat between her legs that the fear play had turned her on more than anything, not sweet gestures like he was used to from other women - if he wanted to win her over, he had to play by her rules.

"Let's get a few things straight Dollface." He explained calmly as he discarded the tattered lace. "This sweet ass-" His hand came down harshly on her skin, making her gasp in surprise. "Is mine."

"This pretty, little pussy…" He mused, appreciation evident in his voice as he smoothed a hand up her back while the other trailed her thigh, swiftly wrapping his fingers around her neck and pulling her flush against his chest while his other hand lifted her leg and he pushed inside of her harshly. "Is mine." A hiccuped scream left her throat, the vibrations rippling against the palm of his hand as he held her head back, staring into her eyes sadistically and searching for any sign of surrender which she _still_ wasn't giving up.

He threw her down into the mattress pinning her to it by her shoulders as he began jackhammering her, hitting those sweet spots with every thrust.

"Tell me, beautiful." He coaxed, knowing that he wouldn't get a response. Her mouth didn't tell him what he needed to know, but her pussy did as she clenched tighter and tighter around him with each touch, each word that left his mouth. He continued pounding into her, marinating in her moans as he pulled her more and more undone when at the very last moment, he stopped.

Sydney cried out in frustration when the intensely overwhelming pleasure came to a screeching halt, the slow purr of his encouraging voice flooding her ears. "Admit it baby." _Fuck he was good._

She started giggling sadistically, earning a slap to her thigh as punishment, making her moan in both pain and pleasure. Her twisted laugh was like heroin to him, his adrenaline getting higher and higher as she deliberately pushed his buttons, challenging him to see how far he would go. He grabbed her hips, yanking her roughly to meet his thrusts, pushing into her hard, fast and deep as she came up towards him, making her scream. He leaned down and growled into her ear against her neck.

"Admit it." He began circling her clit with his fingers, gripping her throat again and cutting off her airway, determined to break her. "You wanted degrading." He reminded her, the memory of their relationship sparking up making her smile before a punishing thrust and a rush of oxygen from his relenting grip, brought her back to reality. "Admit it."

From his breath on her neck, the ferocity in his words, the look in his eye, his cock deep inside her... "Fuck!" She broke, squealing and whimpering between staggered breaths. "Yes, I'm yours." He released her throat at the sound of her confession, fucking her faster as he grinned in satisfaction.

Sydney's orgasm began to take shape once again, uninterrupted this time as he slammed into her. "Tiggy…" She begged in desperation as she tried to hold on.

"I'm right here with you doll, let go." She let go instantly at the sound of his soothing command, cumming so hard that she felt like she was floating, Tig meeting his release at the same time.

Both shaking and still coming down from their high a few minutes later, Tig lifted Sydney from the bed, walking to the bathroom with her in his arms to get cleaned up. He set her down on the counter, looking down into her eyes for a few seconds before kissing her softly and wrapping his arms around her, an embrace that she happily returned. He pulled his lips away and rested his forehead against hers.

"Be mine baby." He asked gently. Playtime was over, he needed to be sure this is what she wanted if he planned on doing this right.

She smiled devilishly. "If you wanted me to be yours Sergeant, all you had to do was ask." She breathed in his ear before biting the lobe. He chuckled at her mimicking, but she knew he needed more. "Tig I've been yours since the day I got here." She admitted quietly.

He brought a hand up to her face, running a ridged thumb across her cheek. "I know I'm not easy to be wit-"

"If I was easy to be with, I would've been with someone by now." She didn't let him finish his sentence.

"Yeah I guess so." He chuckled in appreciation - he was used to being the fucked up one, the feelings he had for her made it easy to forget that her demons weren't all that different to his. It was almost humorous, the eternal bachelor cuffing the eternal bachelorette.

Tig laid in his bed with Sydney on top of him, her back against his chest as she held his left hand in both of her smaller ones, playing with his rings and running her nails up and down his fingertips and across the lines on his palm. She paid special attention to her favorite ring: the silver cross he wore on his middle finger, while his hand played with her hair, lazily twirling strands around his fingers.

"Am I your first?" He asked, still unable to believe it.

"The relationship thing was never really my bent" She replied cockily, turning around to meet his eye as she quoted him back to himself. They shared a laugh before her tone went back to being serious. "You're my first." She confirmed shyly, clearly indicating that this was new territory for her.

"I told you I would be there for the rest of your firsts." She giggled and squeezed his hand, laying in silence for a few more minutes.

"So you really made out with a woman?"

Sydney laughed, the amusement in his voice made it obvious that it had not left his mind since she'd said it. "Gettin greedy." She turned around to see that signature grin as his eyes sparkled.

"How about this, you tell me how it went down and I'll stop askin questions." He proposed with a suggestive look and that same shit-eating Trager grin. She chuckled slowly crawling on top of him and lowering her lips to his.

"Deal."

* * *

_**Songs for this chapter:**_

_**Under My Skin - Byron Foxx**_

_**Get Naked (I Got a Plan) - Britney Spears**_

_**Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna**_


	11. Aftermath

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**_

**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 11: AFTERMATH**

It was the first Wednesday since Sydney and Tig had made their relationship official, although they hadn't exactly gotten to spend much time together with Clay having the guys working overtime scoping out ventures for the rebuild, doing damage control on the pending gun orders, and surveilling the Mayans and Darby. The couple hadn't come out and announced it yet, but most of the guys had come to the conclusion that they were an item after seeing her go back to Tig's dorm where they spent the night - and every night after that - thoroughly christening his room of their new relationship. Sydney did tell Gemma - she wasn't stupid enough to keep such news from the matriarch who was more than happy for the two of them, asking her what he was like in bed and giggling like best friends.

Some shit had gone down with Jax's junkie ex wife Wendy on Tuesday morning, she was just under seven months pregnant with their son when she overdosed, almost killing herself and the baby who was born ten weeks by an emergency c-section. The likelihood of the baby surviving was still rocky but surgery went well, thanks to Jax's ex girlfriend Tara, one of baby Abel's doctors, which did _not_ sit well with Gemma - no matter whose life she was saving.

Gemma had told Sydney about Tara: Jax's first love, a reckless bitch who left him and fled for Chicago ten years ago when they were still teenagers. The blonde was able to sympathize with Gemma's motherly instincts, but she had a feeling that the matriarch may have been acting a bit unfavorably.

Sydney and Gemma were enroute to the hospital on lunch break where Abel had been placed in an incubator after surgery and would remain there until he made a full recovery - if that happened. Sydney could tell it was killing Jax - whatever shit he was dealing with with Clay and now this - he was going to throw himself into the club as a distraction, an action that she would normally, but he was not in the right headspace and she worried that it would cause him to be reckless.

Gemma trembled as she drove down Main Street. "It's gonna be fine Gem. From what I've seen, Tellers don't go down easy." Gemma chuckled.

Sydney knew this had to be hard on the matriarch - reminding her of the death of her youngest son. She'd heard through the grapevine that Thomas' death is what drove John Teller over the edge fifteen years ago and based on Gemma's stories about him - it seemed like it maybe wasn't as black and white as a simple run in with a semi truck, which surely didn't resonate well with Jax over the years, whether he knew it or not.

Tara greeted Gemma and the tramp she'd brought with her - assuming she was either a croweater or Jax's new girlfriend - with Abel's updates.

Sydney gave the brunette doctor an obvious once over. She thought Tara was beautiful, but in a very different way than her and Gemma were, she didn't look fierce or confident or sexy, she was more natural and shy with minimal makeup.

"Hi, I'm Sydney." The blonde girl stuck her hand out and met Tara's with a firm grip.

Sydney had decided that she was going to judge Tara on her own, not on the stories she'd heard from the overprotective matriarch. She respected and liked Gemma, but she didn't let respect and fondness blind her to the facts.

Tara cowered a bit under Sydney's striking green gaze and firm handshake, falling back on her professional duties as a safety net. "The surgery went well, but we need to talk about Wendy."

Gemma scoffed. "What about her?"

"She's still detoxing, won't stop crying. I was wondering if maybe you could talk to her. Just let her know that she's not alone."

Sydney snorted to which Gemma gave an approving half smirk. "Trust me sweetheart, nothing I say to that crank whore is going to make her feel loved."

"You're right, I forgot just how forthright you can be." Tara snarked.

"Seem to've forgotten alotta things sweetheart." The doctor began squirming under Gemma's cryptic words. "Fine." She relented after glancing over at Sydney to see her devilish stare - the two thought alike, she knew just what that stare meant. She sauntered off to Wendy's room, leaving Sydney standing alone with Tara.

"You don't wanna go with her?"

"Why would I wanna do that?" Sydney scowled.

"Strike some fear into the competition." She shrugged sheepishly

"Oh." Sydney laughed in realization. "Nah don't worry, I'm not coming for your man." She winked.

"So Gemma's told you about us huh?" She shifted uncomfortably at the memories that had been flooding her ever since she returned back home when her dad died.

"Bits and pieces, I'm helping out the club."

"I didn't know women were allowed." Tara scowled.

"They aren't." Sydney smirked before she heard Gemma's heels nearing. "See you around Doc." She waved goodbye to the meek woman, starting down the hallway to meet up with the conniving matriarch.

"Does she feel less alone?" Sydney joked.

"Lets just say she won't be fighting for custody." Gemma smirked as they headed toward the neonatal wing.

"Bother you?" Gemma asked Sydney on the drive back when she noticed the usually perky woman staring out the window blankly.

"Huh?" Sydney came back to earth.

"Shit with Wendy, remind you of your mom?"

"Oh, no… Not as much as you might think."

"What do you mean?"

"Doesn't make me miss her or make me uncomfortable if that's what you're asking, I don't connect shit like that to her." Sydney was technically telling the truth. She wasn't uncomfortable or missing her mother and she didn't even think to connect the two scenarios, but she knew subconsciously that the deep anger and hate she felt towards Wendy was stronger than it should be.

When they got back to TM, they heard a commotion as soon as they exited the vehicle, seeing Jax, Bobby, and Chibs all getting on their bikes and peeling out of the lot, the two women scurried into the clubhouse quickly to get to the bottom of things.

"What the hell was that about?" Gemma exclaimed to Clay who was sitting at the bar with his hands in his face.

"Found out one of Darby's guys sold Wendy the crank."

"Jesus Christ."

"Nazi shithead didn't take our messages too seriously… Guess we just need to try harder." Sydney plotted aloud.

"Guess so." Clay looked amused. "Church as soon as they get back, let everyone know." He tasked her.

"On it." Sydney beamed, excited to have been given a member's order.

She sent Bobby a text, told Half-Sack - who was working in the garage, and called Juice, Opie, and Piney. Piney and Opie both seemed hesitant over the phone but they were polite to her anyways. She knew something was up with them, figuring it had to be Ope opting out because of his wife and Piney struggling between his son and the legacy he helped build.

The only person Sydney had left to call was Tig. She felt her stomach flutter as she fought the giant smile forming from the excitement, immediately wincing and rolling her eyes for being so soft.

Tig shielded his eyes from the sun while he stood at the beginning of a dirt path with Trammel where the two were scoping out Darby's possible cook sites around San Joaquin.

"Red house at the end of the road, been out here a few times but we aint got shit for a warrant."

Tig nodded when his phone started ringing. "Hey baby." He answered, tenderness laced his voice, excited to receive her phone call.

"Hey Tiggy, Clay called for church as soon as Jax and the others get back. Found out Darby's guys sold Wendy the crank."

"What? How the hell?" He muttered, surprised by the boldness of the redneck crew after all of the Sons' efforts thus far.

"I told you Clay should've put _me_ on surveillance." She teased.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be there soon."

Sydney marched down the hallway to complete her task, stopping at the door that Happy had temporarily claimed as his, the door right next to Tig's... She giggled to herself, _poor Happy._ She rapped on the door with her signature knock pattern, knowing it would annoy him.

Happy pulled himself out of bed, stumbling over to the door in a slumber and yanking it open to see Sydney grinned up at him, adding to the list of things that would successfully piss him off.

"Mornin sleepy head. Up at the crack of dawn I see."

"Was up late." He grunted.

She craned her neck to see a crow lying naked in his bed. "Mmm I bet you were." She mused dreamily and licked her lips for show, making him wince.

"Don't fuckin remind me why I've been up late the all week." He growled referring to having to hear her and Tig fucking for the better part of each night.

"Awe why not Vato? You know I've always loved being your wingman, aint it time to return the favor?"

"Not when I gotta hear my Princessa gettin fucked by a brother." His features darkened instantly. Anyone else would've shit their pants at the sight of Happy's anger, but Sydney met it with a cocky smirk.

"Now you know how I felt all those years. My turn for some fun." She cocked a brow wickedly. "Besides, you know it turns you on… Anyways, we have church when the others get back." She smiled sweetly and turned to walk away, snickering as she heard his disapproving grunt. "Miss me?" She called over her shoulder.

"I miss those pussy ass decoys of yours." He longed for the days when Sydney would keep some tool on the hook for a few weeks, confuse everyone in the clubhouse and then kick him to the curb.

She snorted. "I don't."

An hour later Sydney was seated at a full table, Piney and Opie included - clearly taking anything involving Abel very seriously. "So, what's the uh, Nords roster looking like these days?" Clay began.

"14, 15 guys, few new kids breaking in."

"Still got meth labs outta Lodi, selling mostly to truckers, some Mexi-gangs." Juice added. Clay looked to Tig, whom Sydney hadn't been able to take her eyes off of in his tight black shirt and kutte.

"Checked out a couple sites Trammel found, one of em looks like a lab for sure. Barn on some secluded land, dirt road access on the outskirts of Pope."

"Call that Nazi Prick and set a meet. How's his guy doin?"

"Cheek bone fractured, broken nose, left nut swingin." Juice laughed while Half-Sack shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, it was beautiful. That's me boy!" Chibs hollered.

"Shot or stabbed?" Sydney asked, taking a drag off of her cigarette, eyes glimmering at the thought.

"Pool cue…" Everyone laughed except Jax. "He's lucky he's still breathing." He huffed.

"Any luck up North? Laroy aint gonna wait on us much longer, got a shipment of heroin comin - needs protection."

"Tacoma can help with the Glocks, but there's no M4s anywhere man." Happy informed regrettably.

"We'll have the intel from Darby by the end of the day. We _will_ get the rest of our guns back." The determination in Jax's voice was almost enough to cover how naive he sounded.

"You really think Darby is just gonna hand us back our hardware as a gesture of good faith?" Sydney spat, not able to contain herself.

Jax whipped his head towards her when she openly questioned him, his face falling to that of uncertainty when he realized how he sounded. She knew he was just angry over the baby and she genuinely felt bad for him, but he needed a reminder that his emotions were not to come with him through that door if they weren't in the best interest of the club.

Clay smirked at Sydney's outburst, ending the session and the tension in the room.

Sydney was working away on paperwork in the office when Tig appeared in the doorway. "Come on doll." He motioned.

"I get to come?" She was a little surprised. She knew that the whole crew was going to the meet with Darby for intimidation - and in support of Jax, but she hadn't completely expected to be included, not that she thought she didn't deserve it, of course.

"After what you did to him last time? Hell we'd be stupid not to bring ya." She smirked.

"Well." She cocked an eyebrow. "Let me get changed and grab my shiv and I'll be right there." They both chuckled as she followed him out the door.

Sydney grabbed the bag that had her change of clothes from the trunk of her car, she always knew to keep some practical clothing for a job or interrogation close by.

"You can go change in my room… Leave some stuff there if you want." Tig said quietly against her neck, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She blushed, feeling bubbles in her stomach, she knew this was his way of saying he wanted her around - that he was serious about her. She tilted her head all the way back, her forehead almost touching his chest.

"You sure you want that?" She smiled coyly.

"Yeah." He chuckled, kissing her on the forehead and closing the trunk for her. "Hurry up." He slapped her ass, prompting her to move faster. She giggled and ran to his room, changing out of her denim mini skirt and into black jeans, throwing a leather jacket over her white tube top before racing back out of the clubhouse where Tig was waiting for her in the doorway. She slowed down, smiling when she saw him before skipping out the door past him.

"You forgettin somethin, Pussycat?" He grabbed her hand to stop her.

"What?" She looked confused.

He tugged her hand towards him, bringing her crashing into his arms, steadied herself against his chest as he kissed her sweetly. She smiled against his mouth - a gesture he mimicked, her body buzzing with a euphoria that was unlike anything she'd ever felt before.

Half-Sack awkwardly stood in front of the entangled pair, attempting to make his move for a clear path out the doorway but stopping each time. Eventually he saw his window, making a break for it as he walked past the two in the middle of their embrace, making them both snicker before following him out.

Tig had his hand on the small of Sydney's back as he guided her towards his bike where she climbed on, she looked forward to riding with him because it meant she got to shamelessly inhale her favourite scent of cologne, leather and grease, the entire ride…

"Damn babe." Tig stopped, lowering his sunglasses to eye the leather clad hottie sitting atop his Dyna_. _"Gonna have to get your own bike with the way you're looking on that."

"You gonna buy me one, Sergeant?" She mused.

"Might have to." He bit his lip and nodded slowly, looking her up and down.

Juice fake gagged but stopped immediately as Sydney and Tig whipped their heads around and shot him the exact same threatening look. "Jesus." He muttered at the similarity between the odd pair.

The crew took off a minute later towards Darby's meeting spot: the diner in Pope where Clay had met him the other day, all stopped and backed their bikes in when they arrived. Sydney unclipped her helmet and shook out her hair before everyone filed into the diner, earning some dirty looks from suburban customers, to all of which Sydney responded with a sickly sweet smile.

Darby was seated on the outside of a booth with one of his guys on the inside - their backs to SAMCRO while another guy stood beside the table, facing the door. Sydney snickered at how they all looked just the same as Darby - same beady eyes and balding head. She walked ahead of Clay, wanting to be the first one to greet him.

The man standing guard at the table took a step forward to stop her, standing down when Clay put his hand up, signalling to let her though. She stopped just behind Darby, removing her sunglasses and running a hand over his shoulder.

"Nice to see ya again Ernie." She cooed.

Darby flinched when he looked up to see her face. "What the hell is she doing he-"

"Ah-ah" She put her sunglasses to his lips, stopping him mid protest. "Remember what I told you about talking to a lady." She ran the frame of her shades along the gash on his chest that had started to heal. "Mmmm good, she's healing up nicely."

Clay chuckled, sliding into the empty bench in Darby's booth, Jax sitting next to him. Sydney slid into the booth behind Darby, Tig sitting next to her while Chibs, Juice, Opie and Happy sat in an adjacent booth. Bobby sat behind Jax and Clay while Half-Sack stood by the door and Piney watched the bikes outside.

Tig gripped Sydney's thigh firmly, she twirled the fingers on her left hand around gently in his curls, resting her palm on his shoulder, soaking up every ounce of this moment while they had their hands on each other in such a minuscule way.

"A little get well present for your guy." Clay said as he slid a wooden box across the table. Darby opened it, revealing a white 357 Magnum revolver.

"That's some serious iron. Izzy'll like that, thank you."

"Figured we'd give him something that had some balls." Jax jabbed angrily, Sydney chuckled before Clay interjected, trying to keep the peace.

"I know what it's like running a crew. Sometimes your guys do shit... Without thinking things through." He nodded understandably, but much like everything Clay said - there was underlying passiveness.

"My guys are thinking just fine."

"They thinkin fine when they sold crank _in_ Charming, to my pregnant ex?" Jax spat. Darby inhaled sharply before cocking his head.

"That was unfortunate, how is your little family doing anyways?" He shot back, causing Jax to leap across the table at him. Sydney immediately grabbed Darby's guy into a choke hold, keeping him from Jax before Tig could move from his seat. The other bald man who was standing by Bobby's table put his hand on his gun.

"Alright, alright, everybody contain your shit." Clay said, nodding to Sydney who released her grip on the Nord. Jax hesitated and sat back down, the Nord turning around and scowling in confusion realizing the tight grip on his neck was from the little blonde, and not the scary man sitting next to her. She tipped her chin and winked at him, making him spin back around. Her and Tig chuckle to each other, returning to their original position.

"Sorry folks, go back to your corn dogs. won't happen again." Clay called out to the startled customers with a raised hand. "You know the drill, I mean you can cook all the crank you want along the border, but you do not deal in Charming." He sneered.

"We ain't the only cook shop in town. Devil wants in, he'll get in."

"Well then I guess you got your work cut out for you. Because the next time the devil crosses the border... I'm coming after you. And next time, I'm not gonna be using a 357 _for a get well present_."

"Eh, where's Whistler? Don't see him around much anymore." Tig piped up, taunting the leader of the skinhead crew.

Darby shot him a look. "No need to be making threats. Me and my boys have always managed to make things work with SAMCRO."

"Good." Clay stood up, signalling that the meeting was over.

Tig got up and offered Sydney his hand, pulling her across the slippery plastic seat of the booth. As she passed Darby, she caressed his right cheek, her fingertips rounding the back of his head to his left cheek, slapping it lightly before she laughed and walked away.

Tig wrapped his arm around her shoulders, yanking her into him as he grit his teeth and whispered in his ear. "You have me so hard right now." She looked down to see that he was telling the truth.

"Looks like you're gonna have to learn some self control, Sergeant." She grazed his bulge with the back of her hand and broke free of his grip, taking off towards his bike.

"So, where are our guns at VP?" Sydney called over to Jax as everyone mounted their bikes, who gave her a cold stare before taking off. Clay laughed, taking off after his stepson. Tig just turned around and gave Sydney a discerning look with a raised eyebrow, which she met with a devilish smirk.

Sydney changed back into her clothes when they arrived back at the clubhouse, carefully looking around Tig's room for the perfect spot to make her own. She decided on one of the little drawers in his dresser, opening them up one by one in hopes of finding an empty one. FInally landing on the very last one which was completely empty except for a single pink thong - the pink thong that she had given that night in the bathroom. She smiled to herself, placing her pants beside it before she waltzed back to the office and carried on with the day's work before her shift at the bar afterwards.

It was a quiet evening in the bar, mainly just the guys hanging around, Tig and Half-Sack were working late to get a bike finished for a Nomad passing through, who was waiting at the table by the door. Juice was sitting at the bar on his laptop, trying to gather some intel on where the rest of the guns might be when Jax passed the bar and gave Sydney a dirty look, clearly still pissed at her for her comments earlier.

She scoffed at him, which pushed him over the edge. "Do you need a reminder that you're talking to a _Son_?" He exclaimed, turning around and walking up on her in an intimidation attempt.

"Yeah, I'm talking to a Son… A son of a bitch." She retorted, unable to help but let a smirk loose as she heard Juice's laughing, which just served to piss Jax off even more.

"You know what Princess? If you know so fucking much, you find the goddamn guns." He pointed his finger in her face. She swiftly grabbed his wrist, holding his hand in place as she traced her tongue up his scolding digit, dropping it and winked at him.

"Alright Jaxy, I will." Jax just stormed out of the bar to his bike and peeled out of the parking lot. She laughed to herself, snapping out of it to see Juice looking worriedly at her. "Oh calm down Juicey." She rolled her eyes, heading down the hallway and into Tig's room to make a phone call.

"Hey Gem, would it be okay if I had tomorrow off? Club business."

"Of course sweetheart, everything okay? Clay didn't say anything."

"Oh yeah everything's fine, kind of a last minute gig. You know how they are."

Gemma snickered. "I sure do, I'll see you later."

"Thanks, see ya." Sydney walked back into the bar to see Tig and Half-Sack with Juice.

"You can get goin babe" Tig nodded.

"You sure? I don't mind."

"I think I got it covered." Half-Sack glanced around the empty bar.

She snickered, grabbing her purse from behind the back. "Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow." She pulled out her pack of cigarettes, offering one to Tig but pulling it back from his hands, walking backwards so that he would get the hint to follow her outside.

When Tig got outside after handing the Nomad off to Half-Sack, he found Sydney straddling his bike with her back to the handlebars as she watched him approach. He smoothed his hand through his curls as he watched her lean back with her legs spread, blowing ribbons of smoke into the night sky.

"I'm definitely buyin you a bike..." He groaned as he swung a leg over the bike, sitting down and immediately pulling her into his lap, tossing her unfinished cigarette to the ground.

"Maybe that was my plan all along." She breathed into his mouth, those pouty lips ghosting over his as she curled her fingers into the front of his kutte and grinded herself down on him.

He pushed her back, leaning forward to meet her lips with force, grabbing a handlebar behind her to steady himself while his other hand trailer up her thigh. She clutched onto him tighter, grinding harder, getting wetter and wetter as she moaned into his mouth while her tongue danced with his.

Her lips moved from his mouth to his neck, sinking her teeth into her favorite vein while gripping his shoulders, feeling him shuddering under her touch. The whimpering escaping his lips had distracted her and before she knew it, his belt chain was wrapped around her wrists and secured to the stem of the handlebars. She flinched when the cold metal touched her skin, smiling wildly when she realized what he had done, tossing a glance over to Half-Sack and the Nomad. He smirked, slowly snaking his hands up her thighs, under her skirt, kissing her neck softly.

She went to wrap her hand around his neck in reaction to the intense pleasure but was quickly reminded that it wasn't an option as the chain rattled and she was jerked back, making Tig snicker sadistically. She untangled her legs from his and leaned back, sliding down the seat.

"You like me like this, don't you Sergeant?" She cooed, biting her lip and narrowing her eyes as she stroked her foot up his leg.

His gaze immediately fell to her open legs, completely exposing herself to him. "I love you like this, baby girl." He drawled as he gently slid her panties down her legs and tucked them into the pocket of his kutte.

"Gonna add those to your collection?" His head shot up, meeting her eyes to see a wink and her evil smirk. Using this opportunity, she swung her leg up and wrapped it around his waist, pulling him into her. "Now Sergeant, are you just gonna sit there and look pretty? Or are you gonna fuck me before I start screaming for help because the big, scary biker chained me to his ride." She growled into his mouth this time.

He was beyond thrilled by her reaction to his risky public sex proposal, immediately undoing his belt buckle and hoisting her up onto his lap, pushing into as he lowered her dow. He gazed up at her with a cocky smirk, feeling how wet she was.

"Always ready for me, aren't you babe?" Her eyes rolled back as he slid her down his cock, biting her lip hard and squeaking as he went balls deep - hitching her breathing. She rolled her hips, unable to leverage herself on anything as she sat on his lap with her feet dangling off the ground. He bounced her on his cock with his hands on her ass, squeezing every now and then.

"Let me hear you baby." He coaxed her, picking up the rhythm and squeezing her ass in encouragement.

She smirked, pressing her lips against his ear so that only he could hear her, muffling her moans by biting and humming instead. He pressed his forehead into her chest, pressing it harder as he felt her tightening as she came, him following soon after. He wrapped his arms around her, both panting and moaning between staggered breaths.

He eased her back onto the seat, leaning over to undo her restraints and pressing his lips to hers before straightening her skirt for her. "Mmm, I love fucking you." He mumbled against her lips with a lazy grin.

"I love you fucking me." She replied with a cocky grin matching his.

"You headin home?"

"Was planning on it." She drew out while looking at him expectantly, hinting that she wasn't dead set on going home to be alone for the night.

"Eat yet?"

"Nah, not all day actually." She replied, realizing just how hungry she was.

"Good." He nodded, passing her the spare helmet.

Tig pulled his bike up outside the pizza parlour, killing the engine and removing his helmet.

"I thought wining and dining was _before_ putting out?" Sydney joked as she hooked the spare helmet over the bitch bar.

"Guess you'll just have fuck me after then too." He grinned, grabbing her hand and leading her inside.

"I think I can arrange something." She winked when they approached the counter.

Tig had made sure that he ordered a pizza with extra olives, and that they sat at a table outside so they could enjoy the warm summer air. Afterwards he drove around town, the sky was clear and he knew how much she loved to look at the stars. He smiled, feeling warm inside every time he felt her head tilting up to sky while she clutched onto him.

He finally pulled back onto the compound, taking her helmet and leading her to her car by her hand. When they got to her Dodge, she stood on her tiptoes - thanks to her white converse - and wrapped both of her arms around his neck in a giant hug.

"Thank you for tonight, baby." She whispered into his neck.

"Anything for my girl." He kissed the top of her head.

She felt her knees go weak, who knew that Tig Trager was this capable of a relationship? Her response to his words wasn't lost on him. He chuckled and pulled away, ghosting his fingers across her collarbone.

"Big, bad Tigger's romantic… That shit's new." He brushed her long hair over her shoulder, curling his fingers at the nape of her neck. She laughed before his lips caught hers in a deep kiss that left her breathless. He pulled away, but suddenly her need for oxygen was the least of her concerns as she quickly pulled him back, peppering his lips with kisses, finally pulling away when she reached the brink of passing out.

She blushed and smiled nervously, looking down as Tig helped her into her car. "I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, closing her car door.

_Yes you will._


	12. A Woman's Job

**I MADE A TUMBLR FOR THE STORY: aravenamongcrows**

**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 12: A WOMAN'S JOB**

"She said _what_?" Clay screeched to Gemma after finding out that Sydney wasn't at work because of 'club business', shooting Tig a look across the garage where he was working with Jax, Happy and Half-Sack.

"Don't look at me brother, she didn't tell me shit." Clay shifted his gaze to the others.

"Shit…" Jax groaned when he realized that this was his doing. "I got pissed at her last night, told her to find the guns herself." Tig chuckled - a louder chuckle overpowering his however, turning to see Happy grinning.

"Get used to it. Cali Queen can be worse than Gem." Clay's brow creased, he had heard a thing or two on the streets about the 'Cali Queen', but he hadn't had the slightest clue that Sydney was the one behind the ominous monicker. By the slightly confused look on Jax and Tig's faces, they were thinking the same thing - all three men piecing together the crown tattoo on her chest. Clay just hung his head and went back inside, if she really was the Cali Queen, he had truly struck gold.

"Billy's bringin by a whole load of new boys today, Mexicans, says they're his new clients and we gotta make em real happy." Sydney sat at the Pope Truckers Diner - dressed in a skin tight, baby blue mini dress and a pair of cheap black stilettos with her hair and makeup done up to the nines - listening to the group of local prostitutes sharing business prospects.

"You guys ever make house calls? You know like parties, hotels… I'm on my own now, looking to make ends meet, you know." She said in despair with her head down, hoping to tug on their heartstrings, topping off the act with a charming southern accent.

"Oh yeah sweetie, they're having one on Sunday: the Mexicans _and_ the white boys, says they're celebrating a 'new opportunity for expansion', wants everyone there."

"You mind if I join?" Sydney glanced up at the older, red haired woman through her eyelashes.

"Those boys will take all the pussy that they can get, they'd be happy to have a sweet little thing like you around."

"Where's it at?"

"Some farmhouse not far from here, says it's real remote but the pay is good, I'll give ya the address sweet cheeks."

"I wonder what this opportunity is… Gotta be somethin big if we gonna get paid this typa cash." Sydney mused in an attempt to gain more intel on if this little gathering was about exactly what she thought it was about.

"Ay chickita, they doin some new stuff with guns, big ones. Started with smaller ones a couple weeks back, good shit I guess. Protecting their new drug trade, that's what I hear from my papi anyways." A sultry, Mexican woman replied smugly.

"Wow, it's a new world… To new opportunities!" Sydney raised her glass, clinking cups with the women who had just inadvertently told her where to find their guns.

After excusing herself from the table and making it look like she was going to meet a 'new client', Sydney headed to her car which she had been sure to park out of sight. She pulled out her phone to see a montage of missed calls, she snorted and dialled Tig who picked up after the first ring.

"Babe? Where the hell are you at? Clay's pissed." Tig ducked out of the garage to take the call.

"Tell him to call church. What was that farmhouse you checked out with Trammel?" She completely ignored his question, relieved to hear the relatively casual tone in his voice.

"Turner road? Looks like a cook lab." He squinted, rubbing the back of his neck in confusion while he racked his brain for the reasoning behind her question, the options he came up with not serving to ease his mind. "Why?" He urged.

Sydney looked down at the napkin in her lap, the address the woman had given her was scribbled in red crayon and read: '620 Turner Road, Sunday 9PM.' She smiled an evil smile, she had truly outdone herself.

"I'll see you soon." Her tires screeched as she sped back to the clubhouse.

Sydney waltzed into the bar where Gemma was waiting for her with a hand on her hip, scowling at her outfit. "You got some explainin to do." She pointed towards the chapel, clearly just as displeased as everybody else was with her little stunt. She just smirked in response, heading to the chapel and swinging the doors open to see a full table, every head in the room turning to look at her - a couple of eyes widening and jaws dropping at her attire.

"What the hell is this." Clay's voice boomed. "You runnin off callin your own shots and now you're callin my church?"

Sydney raised her eyebrows expectantly. "You're all here aren't you?" She scoffed smugly and walked over to her empty chair, each step echoing as she did so.

"Nah." Clay stopped her before she could sit down. "You tell me what the hell you're playing at before you sit at _my_ table." Her lips curled up and she shrugged her shoulders, sitting on top of the table instead and crossing her legs.

Clay slammed his hands down and pushed his chair back, ready to stand off with the little blonde who dared to challenge him in front of his club - and at his table nonetheless. Everyone around the room looked terrified for her, watching the scene unfold in slow motion as Clay began to stand.

"Just taking orders from my VP." She sneered, shooting Jax an icy stare. "And my President." Her glare shifted to Clay as she cocked her head and smiled cryptically, throwing the napkin down on the table. "This is where the rest of our AKs'll be, glocks are long gone. Darby and the Mayans are having a little get together to celebrate their new partnership."

"This where you met with Trammel?" Clay asked Tig as he studied the napkin, his Sergeant nodding slowly in awe. "How the hell did you get this?"

"Simple, you don't send a man to do a woman's job." She smirked as the room full of clueless men looked at each other, trying to decode her answer. "Women gossip." She began to explain. "Truck stop just before the Marina in Pope. Couple of local prostitutes were happy to share their business tactics with the new whore in town… Tactics, contacts, information…" She mused slowly while examining her manicure, the dramatic display adding insult to injury. Clay was blown away by her boldness, initiative and seeming success - but he wasn't going to let up easily for making him look like a weak leader.

"And what about when the Nords and Mayans hear about how you were up there askin questions, huh?" Jax pressed, a little too cockily for Sydney's liking.

"Perky blonde with big tits looking for a connection to a gang?" She scoffed dramatically. Chibs and Happy snickered at the deadpan in her voice, she didn't even need to finish, everyone knew that Jax was grasping at straws.

Sydney's lips curled up when Clay's anger turned to Jax, she cocked her eyebrows and shrugged, satisfied that her explanation had appeased her President, sliding off of the table and into her chair. The moment of pride was short lived however when Clay got up and walked around to her chair. She stood to face him - not breaking her stare or expression.

Tig stiffened, clenching his fists in anticipation, his nails digging into his palms when Clay reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You understand that if this is right, this is a huge deal." Sydney didn't flinch while everyone shifted in their seats, not knowing how to handle however the unprecedented scene would unfold. "And if this is wrong, we are going to have some big problems." He sneered in a low grumbly voice as his face scrunched into a menacing scowl, his grip getting _significantly_ tighter. Tig pushed his chair back and Happy stood up when they saw Clay's knuckles going white, ready to defend her if needed.

She was absolutely terrified but refused to entertain it as she tilted her head to the side. "Promise?" She cooed sweetly.

The sound of a pin dropping in the room could've been heard at that moment. Clay's expression softened as he chuckled at her fearlessness, looking back at Jax who was really to blame, not Sydney.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Piney leaned over, whispering into Bobby's ear.

"The list is too long my friend." He replied in awe.

"Out." Clay released his hand, everyone standing to clear.

Sydney stormed out of the room. She was pissed, she knew this church wasn't going to be easy but she was didn't expect the doubt she received after she had proven herself - having gone above and beyond every single patched member at that fucking table. She grew even more frustrated when she reminded herself that her outing was a result of Jax bringing his personal problems to the club, which he received no scolding for.

Tig sat with his eyes closed, still trying to calm himself. "That wasn't cool man." Half-Sack said quietly from his outcast seat at the back of the room. Jax whipped his head around, glare at the prospect who dared to open his mouth in the chapel, and for a critique nonetheless.

"This shit is on you." Clay turned to Jax with a pointed finger.

"For fuck's sake…" He shook his head, knowing his brothers were right, that Half-Sack wouldn't have compromised his position in the club for nothing.

"She was just doing what we were all told. What none of us had the balls to do." Opie stated. "Took that load of bullshit you just gave her much better than any of us would've."

The truth to Opies statement had Clay quickly realizing that being a stupid leader looked worse than being weak one. "God dammit Sack get her back in here." He bellowed, Half-Sack jumping to his feet and running out after her.

Sydney heard light jogging behind her, turning around to find Half-Sack. "Clay wants you back in there." She swallowed her anger, not wanting to lash out at the gentle man when he was the least deserving.

"Hmm, well it seems I've already made a reputation of recklessly going off on my own." She retorted dramatically.

"What happened wasn't right. I told em that."

Her face dropped. "Kip… They could kick you out for that!" She pushed him in the chest for being so stupid, sticking his neck out to defend her when he was already in such a vulnerable position. "They could exile you!" She exclaimed to the poor kid who just looked to the ground awkwardly, unsure of what to say before she yanked him into a hug. "Don't ever do that again." She said firmly as she pulled away.

"Sydn-" She put her hand in the air, cutting him off.

"Not now." She turned around, she wasn't about to let her emotions get the better of her.

Clay raised his eyebrows when Half-Sack returned empty handed, shaking his head.

"Said she has to 'maintain her reputation of recklessly going off on her own'." Clay and a couple of other guys laughed while Tig put his face in his palm, pinching his nose and inhaling sharply.

"Course she did..." Clay looked to Happy for guidance, the bald man shaking his head, signifying that she likely wouldn't listen to him. He looked to Tig next, figuring the club's enforcer was the best shot at getting her back. "Tigger, this is you." He nodded toward the door.

"This is why I beat hookers." Tig exhaled and pushed himself up from his chair before running out the door, catching up to Sydney just as she was about to start her car.

He opened up her door. "Out." He ordered firmly, pointing to the clubhouse.

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him hard. He smirked as her dynamics poked through: one second, she was a loose cannon - her attitude pissing him off and turning him on all at once. The next, she was willingly submissive and getting off from it - The Reaper and the Old Lady, all wrapped in one.

"Fine." Before Sydney knew it, she was being lifted out of her seat by her arms.

"Tig!" She whined in protest. Her feet had barely even hit the ground before she was being thrown over his shoulder.

"Keep screamin my name baby." He had a huge grin on his face as he kicked the car door shut and began carrying her back to the chapel.

She refused to let him hear her laugh and she had to admit - being manhandled so roughly had her wet enough to feel outside of her panties as she pressed her thighs together.

Light chuckling arose when Tig entered with her slung over his shoulder. He stood at the table by her seat, not showing any signs that he had the intention of putting her down.

"Okay, I'm here. You can put me down now." He adjusted his grip in response.

Before anyone could start talking, she managed to raise her leg back enough to kick a heel off over his shoulder, catching it with one hand and smacking Tig in the back of the knee with it. When his knees buckled, she took the opportunity to swing her legs down hard, gravity pulling her to the ground. The men roared with laughter while smiled devilishly and flipped her hair before rubbing Tig's shoulder in consolation as he tried to hide his bashful smirk.

"That was our bad sweetheart. You did good, better than my surveillance team." Clay shot Juice a pointed glance. "You were just trying to do your part - what you're good at, for the good of this club."

"You bring me back here to tell me shit I already know?"

"Look Sydney I'm sorry. Just fucked up with this shit with Abel... You did what we told you to do and you did a damn good job." Jax interjected.

"Yeah. Already know that too." She snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "I also know that when you're a member, the club comes first. When you're at this table - your emotions get tabled. If I can understand that, I damn well expect the VP of the mother chapter to as well." Jax bit his tongue and nodded, he knew she was right but getting called out by a woman in front of his club was not on his list of things he wanted to do today.

Sydney's gaze shifted to Clay, who sucked in a breath, knowing that the verbal gunfire was about to rain bullets on him. "And you, _boss_. Did you not tell us to 'keep our ears open on the street for word about where the rest of our guns are.'?" She spat his own words at him. He closed his eyes and inhaled, it was his turn to bite his tongue now. "Tell me boys." She addressed them both this time. "If it was Juice or Chibs that went out to gather intel, would they have gotten the same slap on the wrist? Or is that my _special treatment_?" Her voice was firm but calm, sneering certain words at them as they sat motionless, struggling to find the words but they couldn't, they knew they were being completely biased.

She chucked humorlessly. "That's what I thought. I followed orders from my superiors. If that's not the way shit works around here, I'd suggest someone let me know."

Clay nodded slowly. "Won't happen again."

"Good." Sydney cocked her head. "Learning some respect might do you boys some good. Now, do I have _permission_ to go home?" Clay laughed and nodded.

The angry blonde slipped her shoe back on, flipped her hair, and waltzed out.

"Gash makes us look like goddamn Boy Scouts." Clay groaned with a hand over his face once she was out of earshot.

"Did we really just let a little girl show us the fuck up like that?" Jax said in amusement.

"That's the shite you missed at her first church." Chibs laughed, hitting a speechless, motionless Tig in the shoulder.

"May god be with you on the day that you make that woman angry." Bobby joked to Tig.

"Juice. Call the gangster hotline, set a meet." The guys all snickered as Clay hit the gavel.

Sydney arrived home finally, jumping in the shower to scrub off her makeup - and frustration. She got out half an hour later, pulling on some black loose pyjama shorts and a grey tank top, taking a deep breath and heading downstairs, pouring herself a glass of wine and taking it to the back patio.

The warm rays of the sun on her skin washed away her bad mood as she relaxed, subscribing to the gentle humming of the sprinkler she turned on when her ears perked up at the familiar sound of a Harley pulling onto the street and into her driveway. Her senses started to tingle, knowing it was Tig from the deliciously breathy roar of his custom exhaust. She made no effort to move, deciding that after the events of the day she would let him come find her. Sure enough after a few minutes he emerged from the open patio door.

"Hey doll." He greeted her softly. She smiled, half expecting that he'd come to chastise her for her behaviour today.

"Come to haul me back? You could strap me over your bike this time." She mused as he sat down in the chair next to her.

"Don't tempt me." He mock-scolded with a laugh. He knew that she was right, he also knew what she needed right now, and it wasn't punishment.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, looking out over the glistening grass in her backyard, which faced the rolling California hills. "Pretty good view you have." He nodded.

"It would be better if I could see the sunset." She joked softly before a few more seconds of silence.

"You okay? You know, after today?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She responded somewhat distantly, flicking her necklace between her fingers. He nodded, having enough understanding to know that talking about vulnerability wasn't her strong suit. "I find it hard to believe that the Sergeant at Arms is making house calls to damsels in distress." She mused, making him laugh.

"Nah, wanted to talk to ya bout somethin." She stiffened, his words making her nervous. "The fair is comin tomorrow for the weekend. Gemma wants to shut down for the day and have us all there, you know, look good for the town and shit." Her face lit up at his proposal, she loved everything about the fair; the atmosphere, the food, the games, the dancing, the music. "Figured you'd be excited about it." He smiled. "I'll pick you up at 2:30."

"You came all the way here to tell me that?" Her voice was full of wholesome sincerity.

"Yeah… I did." He said through his smile. "Gotta get back, set this shit up with Laroy." He got up and leaned down, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek before walking around the side of the house, back to his bike.

A wave of emotion hit Sydney as her chest bubbled. _What the fuck is this man doing to me.._. She yearned for him every second of the day, even when she had him, her craving was never satisfied. Her body was psychically aching for more. She sprang to her feet and ran after him, catching up halfway down the side of her house.

"Tiggy wait!" Her bare feet slapped against the stone walkway. He turned around as she ran up, his heart skipping a beat at the way she said his name so innocently before jumping into his arms and pressing her lips to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he spun her around, holding her under his thighs as she kissed him passionately, letting the butterflies fly free from her stomach, pouring all of her emotion into the embrace.

"Now I'm okay." She said quietly against his lips before kissing him again.

Tig smiled against her kiss, leaning up against the side of her house when things heated up. She was pushing her tongue into his mouth as she moved a hand to his face, caressing his jaw while his hands moved to her ass, sliding under the loose shorts she wore.

"Mm why you gotta do this to me babygirl." He hummed when she pulled away for air, his pants tightening and his balls aching, setting her back down to the ground.

"Good luck." She smiled devilishly, cocking an eyebrow with a mischievous glint in her eye as she slowly retreated backwards.


	13. All is Fair in Love and War

**A long chapter to make up for the lack of updates over the last few days, plus today (April 6) is baby Syddy's birthday❤️**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 13: ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR**

It was 1:45pm and Sydney was in the middle of getting ready when she heard the muffled sound of a Harley through the music that was blasting from the speakers in her bedroom. She scowled, not expecting Tig until later but rushing down to greet him at the door anyways, surprised to see the face of Chibs instead.

"Aye Lass, Tigger sent me, Clay's got him in the meetin with Laroy before we meet up at the fair."

"Oh okay. You're early, I'll be ready soon so go ahead and make yourself at home." She led him into the living room before heading back upstairs where she returned to curling her hair and bobbing her head along to the beat of the music, eventually turning around to see Chibs sitting on her bed.

"Jesus Christ!" She gasped, reaching to turn down her speaker.

"So this thing with Tigger..."

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Who wants to know?"

"Just me love." His response was surprisingly sweet, taking her off guard. "He's in deep for ye, Lass."

"You think so?" She blushed with a bashful smile.

"I know so… Ye love him?"

"In the five days we've been dating?" She retorted sarcastically to cover up the fact that she had no idea how to respond as the words slapped her in the face. She knew how she felt, but she was still struggling with the overload of new feelings. "Ye can trust me Lass, I know it's scary, but Tigger, he's my brother." She nodded slowly, showing her acknowledgement of his words but not confirming anything. "Never loved no one before have ye?" He smiled in understanding.

"That obvious huh?" She snorted.

"I think he loves ye too." He chuckled, understanding what her response meant, hoping to offer the young woman some comfort.

"It's too early for that." She defended regardless of the feelings that his questions had her coming to terms with.

"Ye know, in this life? Nothin is too soon. Days can feel like weeks, weeks like months, months like years." He advised subtly. The Scotsman was not like Gemma or Clay - he wasn't looking for Sydney's confirmation or divulgence for a personal gain, he simply just wanted her to know that he was in her corner, that he cared.

She knew he was right, but she wasn't going to say it out loud, nodding once again. "I'll be waitin downstairs." He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek before turning and starting towards the door.

"Filip!" She called after a second of hesitation. He peered his head back in the doorway as she bit her lip nervously. "Thank you." She nodded softly, returning the sweet smile he gave her before continuing down the stairs.

Half an hour later, she was all ready to go with her makeup done; lips glossed and hair crimped into voluminous waves, secured in a half up-half down ponytail. She wore a tight white cropped top that read 'I licked it so it's mine' in black script with distressed denim shorts over a pair of chunky black fishnet stockings and combat boots to top off the look.

She spritzed her signature Givenchy perfume and headed downstairs to meet up with Chibs, who she found sitting on the edge of the couch, _very_ invested in an episode of Storage Wars. She stood with an eyebrow raised, hands on her hips, trying to suppress the laughter until she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Jesus Christ!" He whipped his head around at the outburst.

"My turn." She managed to utter out once she finished laughing, finding the exaggerated expressions of the Scot to be wildly entertaining. "Get real into that shit dontcha?" He smiled sarcastically before grabbing his keys off of the island and leading her out the door.

They arrived at the fairgrounds and Sydney was immediately captivated by the sweet smell of carnival food, the music and laughter that flooded her ears, and the lights blinking all around. She scoped out the ride selection as they made their way to the entrance where Gemma stood with Happy, Juice, Half-Sack, and Jax. She had to admit she was impressed - a lot of the rides were much bigger than she'd expected to see in a county fair.

"God damn men." Gemma stammered, clearly unimpressed by their tardiness when today was supposed to be a day off.

"Look hot, little girl." Happy nodded to Sydney with a smirk as she approached, handing her his cigarette to share a few puffs.

"I always look hot." She scoffed playfully.

"Tig seems to think so." She rolled her eyes. "What's goin on there?"

"What do you think is going on Hap?" She fought the urge to roll her eyes again - partially at his questions, partially at her inability to give a straight answer.

"Don't know. You aint tellin me shit anymore."

"Awe Happy Meal, do you miss our late night gossip sessions where we would braid each other's hair?" She mock-pouted.

"We never did that." His stoic expression turned to one of displeased confusion over her ridiculous accusation, one that made her chest bubble with laughter as he took her question literally.

"Sydney." She turned around at the sound of her name, thankful to see Jax - only a distraction from a confrontation with the Tacoma Killer about her feelings could make her thankful to see Jax.

Happy tossed her a glance, silently asking if she required his presence for the conversation that was about to transpire, to which she nodded softly, pushing his chest reassuringly as she passed back the cigarette, letting him know that she was fine to handle this alone.

"Hey." She greeted the Vice President with uncertainty.

"We good? I'm sorry again, about yesterday." She took a deep breath, hearing the sincerity in his voice and being unable to help but realize that today was about distractions from the bullshit, having a good time and not worrying about the weight of what was going on.

"Forgiven?" He held out a strawberry lollipop. She giggled at the childish but cute gesture. Besides… She was a sucker for sweets.

"Forgiven." He pulled her into a hug. "For now." She whispered in his ear playfully, eliciting a bashful smile from him.

"Fitting." He laughed, pointing to her shirt as she popped the bright red candy into her mouth, making her roll her eyes and stick her tongue out at him before he pulled away and quickly turned his attention elsewhere. Her brow creased when he abruptly stepped back from her, but it quickly made sense when she felt hands snake around her waist, the cold metal rings brushing against her exposed mid-section and bringing her soul to life.

"Sorry baby." Clay walked around to greet his wife, kissing her on the cheek apologetically as she rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses.

Sydney leaned back into the embrace as Tig hugged her from behind, pressing his lips against her temple. "God damn babygirl… I can't believe you're all mine." He growled in her ear as he tightened his grip on her waist.

She tilted her head up to meet his eyes, slowly sliding the lollipop out of her mouth and guiding it into his.

"Jesus." Bobby winced, physically recoiling as he watched their encounter in disgust.

Tig pulled the candy out of his mouth quickly when he heard Bobby's words, putting it back into hees, shoving his fingers in with it as she closed her eyes and sucked, moaning for dramatic effect.

"You jealous old man?" He prodded.

"Everyone meet at the beer tent at 7:00. I do _not_ want any trouble today." Gemma narrowed her gaze in the direction of the scandalous couple.

"What's your favorite ride?" Tig whispered in Sydney's ear as the Queen gave her orders.

She turned around in his arms, cocking her brows before letting her eyes slide over his form, licking her lips while nodding. "I could show ya better than I could tell ya."

"No promises" Jax laughed, winking at his mother before he took off to get in line for the Adrenaline ride with Bobby and Chibs in tow, making Sydney laugh at the grown men who were so excited for a kids ride.

"Come on baby, you're mine this afternoon." Gemma cooed, resting her chin on Clay's shoulder.

"Oh!" He hummed and lifted her over his shoulder.

Sydney smiled at the wholesome display of the couple that she admired so greatly: so strong together, yet so weak for each other.

"You know what the cutest part about that shit was?" Tig asked, nodding towards them.

"What?" She scowled at the out of character question.

"How she _didn't_ try to shank him with her shoe." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Well lucky for you, I've retired my weapons for the day." She turned around and lifted a boot. Tig snickered, pulling her to the ride line where Jax and the others stood eagerly.

The gate opened and kids began bolting to get the best seats on the ride - the full grown bikers among them. "Hey I want the outside!" Sydney pouted when Tig hopped the beam that was holding the purple ride car he'd picked for them, securing the funnest seat for himself.

"Hell no!" She kept her lip jutted out while she stood still, hoping he would change his mind. "Think we could switch halfway through?" He proposed with a mischievous grin, making her face light up as she nodded rapidly, excitedly jumping in next to him.

Tig buckled the seatbelt to satisfy the gruff man operating the ride as he made the rounds to ensure everyone was strapped in, He placed his hand on Sydney's knee as the cars began spinning, the beams raising them higher and higher into the air until they were above the trees.

"Ready?" He asked her as his hand left her knee and moved to the restraint.

She bounced in place, readying herself to make the jump at the right time. "Go!" He undid the buckle right as the car reached it's highest point in the air, sliding across the seat as she stood and climbed over him.

The ride abruptly switched directions halfway through it's runtime - something they hadn't anticipated, the force knocking Sydney off of her balance and sending her falling backwards before Tig caught her just in time, pulling her back to the worn leather seat by her wrist.

"Oh my god!" She exhaled, their eyes still wide with fear before they began laughing in relief.

The carnie hadn't missed what had almost happened - not willing to take on a lawsuit because of some stupid bikers who thought they were above the rules. He powered the ride down, enduring the chorus of displeased whines from the children _and_ the bikers.

"Ah shit…" Tig cursed.

"Get outta here!" The scraggly man yelled to the dark haired biker and his ditsy arm candy that he'd chosen for the day.

"Oh come on!" Jax argued with a charming smile, attempting to sway the angry worker.

"You wanna go too blondie? I aint got no problem with that!" He argued back, shutting up the blue eyed pretty boy.

"The hell did they do?" Jax turned to Bobby who was in the car behind him and Chibs.

"My guess is a handjob." He shrugged.

Sydney snickered as she climbed off of the ride with Tig in tow, laughing as they left the gates. "Well, we got one down. Wanna see how many we can get kicked off of?" She proposed with a wicked smile and glint in her eye.

Tig's expression of uncertainty quickly turned to a wild grin matching hers, excited over her proposition but even more excited over the fact that she wasn't upset with him for the rocky start to their day.

"Let's do it baby." He nodded and reached for her delicate hand, taking off in search of more rides.

Tig looked around at all of the prizes hanging from the game tents as they walked through the fairgrounds - he'd picked up girls at the annual fair plenty of times before and they loved the cliche bullshit of a man winning them some stuffed toy, giving it up easily. But Sydney wasn't exactly a normal girl and for some reason, she made him second guess everything he did, sending his normal charm and confidence in women plumpeting faster than the 100 foot Free Fall.

"Uh, should I win you somethin or?" He looked to her for direction, he was happy to do it if it would make her happy - he'd done it before for _a lot _less.

"No." She snorted, shaking her head. He grinned, his eyes lingering on her in appreciation when she proved yet again that she was perfect for him.

"What?" She asked bashfully, her cheeks pinkening when she couldn't pretend she didn't notice him staring any longer.

"Uh…" He snapped out of it, the smile still on his lips. "I don't think there are any rides we can go on over there." He pointed in the direction they were headed, an abundance of kiddy rides being the only thing between them and a dead end, realizing that they had been too in their heads thinking about each other to actually pay attention to where they were going.

"You aren't a very good tour guide, Sergeant." She chastised playfully.

"Was able to take you around the block just fine." He retorted, squinting in the sun and avoiding her grin of approval at this clever response.

On the way back through the games they ran back into Jax, Chibs and Bobby, who were now joined by Juice and Half-Sack at the dunk tank, unable to refuse a game that suited them so well.

Jax threw the first ball, missing the target when the man dressed as a clown perched on the platform began harassing him unexpectedly.

"Oh the big bad biker can't hit a target." He mock-pouted, prompting another throw, harder this time but still missed. "What's the matter tough guy? Cant put the ball in the tight hole? Bet goldilocks over there said the same thing."

"That's a Bozo no no." Tig snarled as soon as the robust man mentioned Sydney, stalking towards him with Jax.

"Oh come on guys, I didn't mean anything by it-" He began to protest.

Sydney ripped the red ball out of Bobby's hands, whipping it directly at the target, hitting it and sending the mouthy clown crashing into the water just before they could get to him. She flashed the cockiest grin possible, making Jax roll his eyes while he and Tig held the guy under the water, everyone laughing before carrying on down the line of games.

After a close round of ski-ball - which Tig won - they moved onto basketball, a tie between Sydney and Jax, all of them taking turns giving their prizes to kids who'd watched them win in awe. All of the men approached the next game smugly, knowing this was something they would beat Sydney at: darts.

She rolled her eyes, sitting out as there could only be six players at a time. She watched in amusement as they got competitive, playing round after round, racking up the points. The final round was between Tig, Half-Sack, and Chibs. If Tig got a bullseye he would win, but if not, it was still anyone's game. They began lining up their shots when Sydney saw her opportunity as Tig drew his hand back, ripping the dart out from between his fingers she threw a perfect bullseye, smiling devilishly as the buzzer sounded.

"But… Darts at the clubhouse?" Juice questioned in disbelief.

She smirked knowingly, turning her attention to Tig as she grabbed his hand and led him away. "Don't be fighting over my prize now boys." She called over her shoulder.

"You tellin me you missed that shot on purpose?" Tig asked with a lazy grin and his arm draped over her shoulders, recounting the stripping that resulted from her 'missed' shot, the previous weekend.

She held onto his hand dangling off of her shoulder, giving him side eye and swaying her body playfully as he slowly shook his head. "What am I gonna do with you?" He pondered in a playful growl, looking her up and down with a smirk.

She winked, her cocky half smile turning into a grin before she broke away, walking ahead of him and spinning around in small circles, stopping when her eyes landed on her next target.

"I hope you're in the mood to get wet, Tiggy." She cocked an eyebrow, her gaze set on the log ride.

"Only if you're the one gettin me wet." He smirked, nodding his approval over her next choice.

"Should we stand, or switch?" Sydney plotted their defiance as they stood in line while children and families boarded the plastic logs that sloshed around in the water.

"Water surfing?" Tig nodded with a smirk of excitement.

When it was their turn to board, Tig stepped in front of her, taking the better seat once again. "What the hell!" He smirked as she complained behind him, keeping his back to her.

"If you think I'm letting you walk around this busy ass place in a soaking wet, white t-shirt, you're wrong." He shook his head, slipping his sunglasses on to shield his eyes. She pursed her lips with an understanding nod - he had a point, but it didn't mean she was happy about it.

The ride chugged along the track, water lightly splashing against it as it neared the ascent to the top before starting the slow, uphill climb. Sydney was glad that it wasn't too tall - she was a fan of rides, she loved the adrenaline of the fast moving, spinning, upside-down thrillers, but big drops were something she could never force herself to enjoy, no matter how hard she tried.

"Ready babe?" She heard Tig call, snapping her out of the dread that she'd conjured up while looking up at the big, red Free-Fall.

"Yup! Last one standing wins." They pushed themselves up as the log slid over the curve, sending them over the edge and down the drop.

Sydney bent her knees in an attempt to keep a better balance, something that Tig couldn't do if he was trying to shield her from the tidal wave. He managed to keep his balance all the way until the end when the force of the water sent him tumbling back, the harshness of the blast taking him by surprise as he ripped his sunglasses off and tried to regain his bearings, the sound of Sydney's howling bringing him back to earth.

She would've held her stance longer, but the second that Tig landed on his ass she lost her composure, falling back in hysterics. His plan had worked, she was going to come out unscathed apart from some tiny water droplets that had coated her legs and arms as a result of him taking the impact.

"Jesus christ!" He muttered, still taken aback by the force of what was supposed to be a fun kids ride.

"Guess that's why you're supposed to sit down." She laughed.

"Yeah… Guess so…" He muttered, his gaze falling to the exit of the ride where the carnies were standing with their arms crossed, the line not moving as a result of their stunt.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is!" Sydney chuckled when yet another overweight, scruffy man started to yell at them.

"Oh come on man, we're fine." Tig grinned, helping Sydney up and out of the ride.

"Who the hell do you think you are!"

"Thanks for the ride!" Sydney smiled sweetly, pulling Tig's arm as they hastily took their leave to avoid getting security called on them.

"Think we better lay low for a bit…" Tig scanned the grounds, landing on the beer tent where he knew Gemma and Clay would be.

Sydney's eyes followed his. "Good idea." She nodded in confirmation.

When they entered the tent, they saw Gemma and Clay were on the dance floor as well as Jax, Chibs and Bobby, who were all trying their damndest to do the country swing, alternating their starry eyed dance partners who didn't care for their poor skill, just the fact that they were dancing with a biker.

Sydney smiled as she watched the scene before, feeling her heart getting heavier and heavier in the best way possible. She loved this: the warm air, good music - watching the people she loved, having fun.

"Come on doll." Tig led her to the dance floor.

She hadn't known what to expect, as the only dancing she'd done with him was relatively slow or goofy like the dances they made up in her kitchen, but she was beyond impressed as he twirled her around expertly. Halfway through the song, Tig and Clay twirled Sydney and Gemma at the same time, switching partners, then switching back, keeping the huge smile on Sydney's face the entire time.

"Well, I'll be. The Sergeant at Arms _does_ dance." She teased Tig in a southern accent as the two couples made their way to a picnic after a few songs.

"You aint the only one full of surprises." He wiggled his eyebrows, removing his arm from around her as she situated herself at the picnic table across from Gemma and Clay. "Republican…Twelve o'clock." He said in warning, taking the opportunity to disappear into the crowd before he could sit down.

"How you doin, Elliot?" Sydney straightened up as an older, cleancut man approached the table with who she assumed was his wife

"Okay, Clay." He nodded, shaking Clay's hand.

"Karen." Clay nodded to the stuck up women who forced a smile. Sydney tilted her head and wiggled her fingers at the attractive gentleman for no reason other than to shove the stick further up his wife's ass, than it already was.

"We gotta go." Sydney snickered as Karen Oswald pulled her husband away from the flirty gaze of the gorgeous young blonde.

"Damn, you'd think that with all that money, they could pay somebody to remove those sticks from their asses." Gemma mused.

"Mhm... Maybe he's just a little paranoid that his country club cronies are gonna see him talkin to the outlaw."

"Come on, I need to talk to the outlaw." Gemma flirted, pulling him up from the picnic table.

"Oooh." They waved goodbye to Sydney as she chuckled, Tig quickly reappearing with a cloud of cotton candy.

"Eat." He handed it to her, sitting down on the opposite side of the table with a bag of peanuts.

She was in heaven, a giant smile plastered on her face as she revelled in his presence and the sweetness on her tongue. He smiled in amusement as he watched her try to contain herself, his expression changing as someone caught his eye behind her.

Sydney turned to see a man with a buzzcut, standing with his hand on the lower back of a skinny young blonde.

"What? Used to fuck her or somethin?" She teased with a raised brow, he chuckled and shook his head.

"That's Kyle." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hobart?"

"Yeah. Better hope Clay doesn't see him..."

"He was kicked out clean, right?"

"Yeah... Doesn't mean he still won't get his ass beat for showing his face in Charming."

"We gonna throw that beating?" She surmised hopefully.

"Only thing taking a beating tonight is that pussy, come on." He nodded with a dirty smile, springing to his feet and walking around to her side of the picnic table where she sat with her lip between her teeth, grabbing her hands and hoisting up.

They were making their way through the thickening crowds on the grounds when a group of young kids ran right towards them. Sydney let go of Tig's hand and raced ahead of him, leaving him to get caught up in the traffic.

It was in that moment, when she spun around to laugh at him, that his world froze. It was like he was watching her in slow motion as her hair bounced and her eyes glimmered. He felt his heart sink, realizing he had fully fallen for her. He ripped off his sunglasses to take in the sight of her, waiting for him with her hand out, fingers wiggling and cheesing hard. He chuckled, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head before he retook her hand.

"I think that's our next target, baby." He nodded to the Free-Fall.

Sydney tensed, the moment she'd been dreading all day finally coming to face her. "Um, I don't think we could get kicked off that one, it would just be a waste of time." She attempted to keep her voice as level as possible but Tig wasn't buying it as he stared down at her with a smug smirk and a raised brow.

"Are you… Are you scared of a ride?" He questioned theatrically, milking her weakness as much as he could, as it wasn't something he got to do often.

"No! I just-" He took the opportunity while she searched for an excuse to lift her over his shoulder, running to get in line. _For fucks sake_, she cursed herself for giving him the idea earlier.

He put her down, spinning her around and standing behind her with his other hand on her hip to keep her from running away. "You'll be fine." He chuckled against her temple, pressing a kiss against it when he felt her start to shake.

She backed into him, pressing her ass against his crotch as hard as she could as her nervous body vibrated, needing some kind of retribution from all the torture she was receiving. He pulled away from her quickly, inhaling sharply as his grip on her tightened, making her smirk.

She regretfully boarded the ride, pulling the restraint over her head quickly while Tig watched with an amused smirk. She tried unsuccessfully to hide her reddening face in the padding that came over her chest, which only made him laugh harder. She kicked him in the shin to shut him up, which was also unsuccessful.

"Come on baby don't be mean, I'll even hold your hand." She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand after staring at it for a few seconds, bringing his hand in hers up to the optional handle bars on the chest restraint, squeezing both until her knuckles went white. "Kitten... The ride hasn't even started yet."

"Shut it!." She snapped as they lifted off the ground and he continued to mess with her, trying to play footsy as their feet dangled. She caught her as they ascended high into the air, admiring how gorgeous the town was from the high altitude, her eyes twinkling as all of the lights from the fair started to come to life as sunset neared.

The ride finally reached the top and Sydney squeezed her eyes shut, taking Tig's hand into a death grip while the ride sat there for what felt like ever. She opened one eye slowly, then the other.

"Why the fuck would they do tha-" Just as she started to complain about the suspense, it dropped. Her eyes slammed shut as she screamed a blood curdling scream that made Tig wish he hadn't offered his hand so that he could cover his ears. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god." She repeated over and over, her hand still squeezing his.

"Babe..."

"What!" She snapped, opening her eyes to realize the ride had stopped. She laughed nervously, releasing his hand and rolling her eyes at his face which was red from laughing at her, taking off towards the exit.

"I think you broke two of my fingers." Tig laughed as he caught up to her, shaking his hand out.

"Well let's hope they're not my favorite two." She raised her eyebrows and looked at him expectantly.

"Oh I can get creative, baby." He said low as he grabbed her waist playfully, pulling her in for a kiss, which she deepended, smiling as he dipped her backwards. She had an arm around his neck with a hand in his hair, gripping his shirt under his kutte in an attempt to release the pent up feelings in her body. He smiled, straightening up and pushing off of her hip. "C'mon." He grabbed her hand and led her through the crowds once again, the light starting to fade as the sun set.

A cautious smile formed on her face when he halted at the ferris wheel. "Serious?" She asked, waiting for his punchline or a laugh before he dragged her off to another torture chamber.

"You wanted to see how many we could get kicked off of." He shrugged. "And I know how much you wanna see the sunset from up there." He spoke out of the corner of his mouth, making her freeze. _Had such romantic words just come out of his mouth?_

He caught the look in her eye before she looked away. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, draping it over her chest while she clung onto it in full swoon.

After climbing into the two person hanging basket, Tig pulled her into his chest, his fingers trailing back and forth along her arm as they slowly made their ascent to the clouds, stopping every minute or so for new people to get on. He shifted his body to the side slightly so that she was laying with her back to his chest, staring up at him.

She saw something different in his blue eyes, it was similar to the lusty, intrigued looks he'd given her before but it was deeper, softer. "Thanks for today, angel." He stated sincerely, kissing her on the forehead.

"I'm sure you've been to the fair with other girls before, Tiggy." She rolled her eyes jokingly, sitting up.

"First time I've done it for more than just pussy." He pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Is that supposed to be romantic?" She squinted while her lips curled up.

"Aint it?" They both laughed, their carriage getting higher and higher while Sydney's eyes sparkled up at him. He shifted, turning her head to look over the side, giving her a perfect view of an even more perfect sunset as pink clouds littered the sky above the orange and red horizon peeking through the hills.

"Wow." She said dreamily, admiring the beauty.

"Beautiful huh?" She turned around and nodded, a smile wide on her face, catching the look in his eye again as he watched the golden light of the sun reflect off of her skin, making her green eyes pop like there was nothing else in the world to look at. He continued to stare at her longingly, like she was something straight out of a dream.

She cowered under his gaze, laying back down on his chest and grabbing one of his hands lightly in an attempt to ground herself and calm the flipping her stomach was doing. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, tracing her finger along his cross ring and clutching her necklace, giving her the much needed comfort for what she was about to do, allowing her tightly sealed emotions spill over.

"I'm in love with you." She blurted out, feeling his entire body tense under her and his heart rate speed up. _Fuck, fuck fuck. _She winced. _This was a bad idea. It's too soon. I should've fucking waited, let him say it fucking first._

Tig cupped her face with both of his hands, gently turning her head to face him, ripping her from the internal cursing she was giving herself for being so stupid. She opened her eyes when he touched her, but she kept them glued downwards, scared to meet his as her heart raced a thousand miles a minute. She flinched again when he brushed his thumb under her eye gently, unintentionally lifting her eyes to meet his which were soft as ever, crystal clear from the sun.

This was Tig's first time seeing her properly vulnerable. Sydney was the kind of girl who demanded the attention of everyone in the room without ever having to ask for it, such a stark contrast to how he was seeing her now, which only made him realize just how strong she was, made him admire her that much more to know that she _did _have these feelings, she just masked them well, like he did.

"Say that again babygirl." He whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

He opened his eyes and pulled away from her, staring at her while she sat stunned, unable to speak as she trembled in his arms.

"Syd..." He said firm enough that she flinched at the sound of her name, opening her eyes to find him staring into them deeply. "From the second you walked across that parking lot, I knew there was somethin more. Knew when you left the bathroom that night and it wasn't enough." She giggled. "You make me feel somethin. I can't remember the last time I felt that." He nodded. "I'm not a good person. But you... You know that. I don't have any secrets when I'm with you. I can't. I-I ha.. I have to open myself up, for this. All the shit I hide, all the shit I hate about myself. You see it all baby... And through all that you still love me? Wow... I mean man, I've never had that with anyone." It wasn't a lie, Tig had never been loved by a woman who knew what he was.

"When I try to get close, you know, to feel..." He trailed off as he tried to find the right word, his voice more delicate than she had ever heard before.

"Normal?" She finished for him.

"Yes! Yes. I-I, I just can't hook it up... But I want to. I want to." His voice cracked. "I wanna know what it's like to have someone to go out with, come home to, fuck someone to talk to. When I saw you walking today, all smiles just for me?" He looked away, pulling himself together to finish. "I knew. I knew it baby. I knew that I'd fallen in love with you." He looked down into her eyes, he could see the happiness filling them as she processed his words. He brought her face close, her lips meeting his as he kissed her deeper than he ever had before, holding her tight. She brought a hand behind his neck and the other to cup his jaw, trying to bring each other as close as possible.

A few minutes into their passionate embrace, they were startled by the rattling of the carriage door and an angry carnie kicking them off of the ride.

"Damn… We didn't even have to try that time." Sydney grinned.

Gemma and Clay were at a table in the beer tent while they waited for everyone to make it to the rendezvous. "What the hell is it with everyone today?" Gemma exclaimed in frustration as she checked her watch before Jax appeared in the nick of time to appease his mother's outburst, kissing her on the cheek. "Where are Tig and Sydney?"

"I just saw em being escorted out by security." Chibs announced as he approached alongside his VP.

"The hell for?" Clay scowled.

"Somethin about a blowjob in the photo booth…" Jax grinned knowingly, his divulgence earning a round of mixed reactions - some cheering and some groaning.

"You sure you didn't find her at Luann's?" Bobby asked Clay with a raised brow.

"I'm not sure of anything anymore." Clay groaned.

"The Irish are comin." Juice panted as he reached the group after jogging the entire length of the fairgrounds.

Clay nodded to Jax, signalling that it was their time to leave the fun and get back to business. "Sorry baby…" He apologized to Gemma. "I'll be sure to finish you off later." He added in hopes of keeping her happy.

"Yeah… I've heard that before. Give me some quarters, I'm heading to that booth." She grinned, her spirits remaining high, grateful to have had at least some of a stress-free day.

An hour later, everyone was back around the table after Clay's meeting with Cameron Hayes - Michael McKeevy's partner, who he had met with to hand off the cash they owed for their last gun order, as well as discuss a new transport method for the trying times that lie ahead.

"Laroy's giving us an extra few days to come through with his order… We get the rest of our AK's back from the Mayans on Sunday, hand em off, meet with him again on Monday for the handguns. Glocks are comin down from Tacoma with the Grim Bastards, all we gotta do is get them from Lodi, to Laroy. With the heat still on our asses, we're gonna have to try out somethin new."

"Grim Bastards?" Chibs scowled, unsure that he'd heard his President correctly as he mentioned the M.C. that SAMCRO had always been on the outs with.

"T.O., G.B. Pres. is Laroy's cousin, he's convinced him to join our cause." Everybody nodded, not seeing another option.

"What're you thinkin here boss?" Bobby asked in regards to the new method.

"Charity ride. Children's Hospital in Lodi."

"SAMCRO community servants." Jax flashed a smug grin.

"How do we carry?" Tig asked.

Clay placed a bedroll on the table, unrolling it to reveal ten glocks tucked safely in protective slots. "Edmund Hayes, Camy's son - boy's a genius."

"Must take after his mum." Chibs laughed.

"Just a biker with a bedroll. Six Riders, five dozen… Me, Jax, Bobby, Tig, Chibs, Hap."

"It's a good haul." Happy stated with a nod of approval.

"Cops won't mess with us when we're serving humanity." Jax grinned, a little too smug with the plan for Sydney's liking. She sat with a smug look on her face the whole time, a look that the table was becoming all too familiar with.

"Alright, now Princess, why don't you tell us what we've missed."

Sydney smirked. "It's a smart plan, but slapping a charity banner over the reaper don't make it an angel. You may _think_ that the cops won't fuck with you during a good deed, but the feds will. They'll have every deputy from here to Lodi on the lookout for SAMCRO to pull you on anything: speeding, traffic offences, expired plates, you name it. You need a distraction."

"And I'm assuming that's you?"

"Hasn't it always been?" She mused cockily. "Second, if we're passing this off as a charity ride, we need to do it right. Cops are gonna wonder why only half of SAMCRO is contributing to the cause, maybe even more than they'll wonder why we're suddenly showing consistent community support. If I started turning tricks, people would be a little suspicious if I only sucked half the cocks dry, don't you think? I mean, some may call it favoritism but others may call it lack of commitment." She shrugged, making Tig burst out laughing at her choice of comparison. She smiled, biting the inside of her cheek to try and maintain her sincerity.

"They also might wonder why we're carrying bedrolls for an hour long ride." She cocked an eyebrow. "Juice takes the van, drives ahead a couple miles, alerts us of cops, radar traps, anything. You can do that, can't you Juicey Fruit?" A couple of snickers arose at his nickname, but he was too excited to care.

"Yeah! I can hack the police scanners and use the radar detectors!"

Sydney studied Clay's face, he seemed to be taking her criticism well, so she continued. "When we get wind of a trap, I'll get far enough ahead, going fast enough for a good ticket that their small-town quotas can't pass up. Cops out of Charming will have no idea that I'm associated with the club, won't suspect that it's a ruse. By the time I'm pulled over, you guys pass. We repeat that until we reach Laroy. The tickets will be close enough together that their system won't register anything in time to impound me." Still no definitive response coming from Clay. "We start this out slow and safe, the cops get used to the charity rides, don't suspect anything going forward, won't bug you on the long runs." She finished her pitch off strong, seeing that Clay was deep in thought as he weighed the pros and cons. "What's the matter Pres? Don't think I can run with the big dogs?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no Princess." He snorted. "I know you can, but I don't think my guys are taking too kindly to you stepping all over their manly-hood with those stilettos of yours."

She smirked, hoisting her feet up onto the table. "Well it looks like I chose a good day to trade em in." She cocked an eyebrow. "The future of this club is more important than the egos of your crew, don't ya think?"

"You're sounding more loyal than my damn prospects."

"Maybe you'll just have to patch me in." She mused.

"This goes well, you come talk to me."

She felt a rush through her veins, she had to imagine it was the same rush that junkies lived for because she would've done anything to experience it again. She kept her external reaction under wraps, not knowing if Clay was being facetious or not. There had never been a female member in the history of the SOA, and the thought of potentially being the first ignited a fire of ambition behind her eyes.

"All in favour?" Clay asked, everyone yelling words of affirmation and hitting the table.

Sydney beamed as her vote passed with the familiar sound of the gavel.

She exited the chapel to see Elliot Oswald - the uptight republican from the fair, sitting at the bar looking like a mess.

"Hang back." Clay ordered his club before he walked over to see what had brought in their prestigious visitor.

Tig retook his seat and pulled Sydney into his lap, gripping her thigh and nibbling on her neck as she giggled.

"Ain't that a pretty picture." Bobby joked to Jax, watching them whisper dirty things into each other's ears.

"Those two psychos piss me off, but I gotta admit they fuckin belong together man." Clay returned to the chapel with his head hung. "What?" He asked, worried.

"Oswald, someone raped his little girl at the fair." Sorrow washed over the table and Sydney's blood ran cold. "Unser's got Hale out lookin, kid don't remember much."

"He hit her?" Sydney questioned, wondering how much truth there was to the statement.

"Nah, just threw her down in the dirt." He nodded towards the chapel doors. "Wants us to find the guy, bring him the scumbag."

"We got a rebuild hangin over our heads, do we really wanna be out there playin' some pro bono Lone Ranger?" Bobby argued.

"Yeah we got _a lot _of shit on the go right now man…" Jax sighed.

"What if that was your daughter." Sydney snapped at Bobby, who reluctantly accepted her point, her outburst serving to stop Tig from making any arguments he had intended.

"I get it. I just don't know how I feel about puttin my ass on the line for him."

"She's thirteen… Thirteen!" Chibs chimed in - his fatherly instincts kicking in, no doubt.

"Oswald doesn't give a shit about SAMCRO." Jax tried to reason.

"When people have shit happening in this town, they don't go to the cops, they go to the club. That should mean something to you." Sydney shot angrily at Jax over the sensitive subject. "You wanna send the message that people can come into your town, rape little girls and get away with it?" She argued further, unable to understand why he seemed so hellbent on opposing everything that Clay brought to the table.

Tig tightened his grip on Sydney's thigh, loosening it and rubbing gently to try and calm her down while Clay chuckled, enjoying that someone other than him felt the need to remind Jax of his position in the club.

"That's right. _Us,_ Jacky boy."

"Look at little pussy whipped boy not sayin a goddamn thing, you know he'd be shootin this shit down if she wasn't here!" Jax pointed at Tig in mock frustration, trying to lighten the mood. Sydney gave a small smirk, placing her hand over his in appreciation for his display of respect - Tig didn't give a shit about Oswald or his kid, he knew they wouldn't have given him a second thought if he was the one in trouble but it seemed to mean something to Sydney and Clay, and he wasn't one to pass up on violence.

"Do I need to call a vote?" Clay sighed.

"Nah brother. We do this." Bobby said, Jax reluctantly nodded along with everyone else.

"Guess we're huntin the tot banger." Tig joked.

"Found em." Jax nodded to the curly haired man across the table, making everybody laugh.

"Me and Gemma will find out who did this." Sydney announced when the laughter died down, getting up to leave. Jax scowled but Clay just shook his head, not up for another argument.

"Woman's job, VP. _Woman's job_." Sydney chuckled and patted the table, reminding him of yesterday's lesson.

Everyone cleared out of the chapel and began their hunt for intel while Sydney waited for Gemma to arrive, which gave her the perfect opportunity to approach Clay.

"A word?" He nodded and followed her back to the chapel, her voice sounding the second he closed the doors. "You think he's gonna be able to do it?"

"Oswald?" Sydney nodded in confirmation. "Don't know. Anyone else? Nah. But his little girl? That shit can make a man go crazy."

"You're going to blackmail him, aren't you?" Clay hesitated, unsure if he should trust the little hellraiser with his plan.

"You got a problem with that?"

"Make sure he can't." Sydney ordered.

"What?" Clay scoffed in confusion.

"Give him a knife. Not a gun. Make sure it's something you know he won't be able to stomach."

"What are you getting at here, Princess?" He wasn't following. The entire purpose was to use the kill against Oswald as leverage, something he wouldn't be able to do if the white-collared businessman couldn't do the deed.

"You were going to have him kill the asshole, leverage him for money for the rebuild." She relayed his thought process. "Do it for something more. He owns land right? Buildings?" Clay nodded slowly, catching her drift. "Bring a bag for the knife when he can't. We use it as leverage for a new warehouse, it'll have his prints all over it. No one would suspect that a property owned by the notorious Elliot Oswald is housing illegal firearms, he won't have a choice. That way we have our rebuild _and_ asses covered."

The face of the President lit up in response to the extremely clever young woman who managed to greatly improve his plan, every time.

"You're just what I needed around here you know that? Too many of my guys goin soft these days… So this run to Lodi…"

"Been dyin to get back on the road, not really a side saddle kinda gal." She beamed at his praise before winking.

"Speaking of goin soft, I aint gonna have to worry about my Sergeant, am I?"

"Not on my watch."

"That's what I thought." He chuckled.

"Don't you worry Pres. I'll keep him hard." She gave a suggestive smirk, cocking a brow and winking again before strolling out of the chapel, leaving Clay chuckling to himself at her neverending fun nature.

Not long later, Sydney and Gemma pulled up at on the hunt for Tristan Oswald. "Okay, you distract mom. I'll talk to Tristen." Sydney relayed the game plan to her partner in crime.

On the way to the elevator, Sydney spotted Unser's deputy, David Hale talking to Karen Oswald. She nodded to Gemma who headed over to distract them while she ran for the stairs, making it to the paediatric wing where she quickly found Tara.

"Tara! I need to know where Tristen Oswald is."

"The girl from the fair?"

"Yeah."

"Is there a reason you're asking?" She asked sheepishly, letting onto the fact that she wasn't supposed to give out the information but she would if she found the reason to be justified. Sydney just gave her a look that told her all she needed to know, taking her back to her Old Lady days when Gemma would give her the exact same look - a look that told her not to ask questions.

"Thanks." She said as Tara turned to retrieve the patient log. "Hey, has Jax been around?" She caught the doctor off guard when she suddenly realized that as far as she was aware, Jax hadn't seen his son in days.

"No." Tara tried to sound nonchalant but Sydney detected her disappointment easily.

"Hi sweetie…" Sydney entered Tristen Oswald's room minutes later with the help of Tara, closing the door softly.

The young girl picked up her phone, dialling her mother. "My mom said I have to call if anyone talks to me." Her voice was trembling audibly.

Sydney sat down on the bed quickly, taking her hand gently and lowering the phone. "That's okay sweetheart, you don't have to do that. I'm a good friend of your moms."

"You are?" Tristen questioned gently, the hope evident in her voice. Sydney's stomach dropped further and further with every word that left the poor girl's busted lips, she hated that something so horrible had to have happened to her.

"Yeah, I haven't met you yet, my name is Sydney."

"I saw you at the fair. You were dancing with that weird guy with the curly hair." She giggled.

"Yeah I was." Sydney laughed, happy that she was able to momentarily distract the poor girl from the heinous trauma she'd undergone - even if it was at Tig's expense.

"Is he your boyfriend?" She asked cautiously, clearly confused about the gorgeous woman choosing the creepy older man to be her boyfriend. Sydney laughed freely, glad that their close proximity in age made Tristen feel comfortable around her.

"He is." She smiled big, still feeling the butterflies when she referred to Tig that way. "It's okay… All the guys bug me about it too." She joked, nudging her leg playfully.

"They aren't so bad, are they?" Tristen asked inquisitively, her opinion of the rough bikers clearly tainted by her parents.

"Not nearly as bad as you would think, they look scary but really they're all one big family. They're all working as hard as they can right now to find the guy who did this to you, because they care about you."

"Really?" Sydney nodded. "He looked at you special. Like he loves you." Sydney's heart throbbed as the meaningful words came from the girl who's life had just been changed forever.

"You're a strong girl, Tristen." She nodded in admiration. "He told me tonight… That he loves me." She smiled.

"I hope someone feels like that about me one day."

"A beautiful, kind girl like you? You're going to have a line of men who feel that way about you in your lifetime, sweetheart." Tristen began to smile when her lip started trembling and the tears began spilling uncontrollably.

"Not anymore." She sobbed.

"Don't say that, you know that this has nothing to do with you." Sydney's expression changed to a frown. "Look at me." She ordered firmly, she knew from experience that a firm hand was needed in these situations.

She looked up, meeting Sydney's soft eyes which were currently a forest green shade. "Did you ask him to do what he did?" She looked confused and uncomfortable, eventually shaking her head wearily. "Did you tell him to stop?" She nodded. "You're a smart girl Tristen. Smarter than a lot of girls your age, I'm sure your parents tell you that, right?" She smiled softly and nodded. "As a smart girl, you _know_ that there is nothing you did to bring this on, and there wasn't anything you could do to stop it. There are sick people in this world baby, nothing about this is your fault." Sydney clutched Tristen's hand in an attempt to reinforce her sincerity.

"The same thing happened to me when I was younger." Sydney admitted after a few moments of silence, knowing that the only way to get through to the damaged girl was to help show her that things could be overcome.

"What?" She squeaked, unable to believe that the gorgeous, confident, intimidating woman who ran with bikers could've ever been hurt the way that she had tonight.

"Close." Sydney nodded, staring off distantly as she attempted to ward off the weight of the memory.

"How did you-, I mean… You don't look like-" the young girl stumbled over her words, trying to find the right thing to say.

"I didn't want to tell anyone, didn't want anyone to look at me differently, but I had to. I was lucky that I had the right people to show me that it wasn't my fault."

"Can I trust you?" Tristen asked meekly after a few seconds of thinking over Sydney's advice.

Sydney hesitated, remembering that her purpose was to find out who was to blame for this, and finding who was to blame could very well involve breaking Tristen's trust. She did something that she _very_ rarely did, going with her heart over her head and nodding.

"I remember everything. My mom says it will ruin my reputation if I tell. I know it's not my fault. But it's making me feel like it is."

Sydney squeezed her hand while she listened to the gut wrenching story of what went down that night, who did it, where it happened. It was hard for her to listen to, but she felt better knowing that this time, rather than being a victim, she was able to be a beacon of hope.

"I'm going to fix this, and when I do, I'm going to come back and visit you, okay?"

"Please." Tristen nodded.

She got up off the bed, heading towards the door. "Tristen." She looked at the battered girl sitting in the hospital bed, noticing how much lighter she looked now than when she'd first entered. "You're gonna be just like me one day, baby." She nodded with a smile.

Sydney met up back with Gemma downstairs, hoping that the matriarch had come through on her end of the bargain so that she didn't need to carry the betrayal of the young girl's trust on her shoulders.

"Carnie raped her. Big guy dressed as a clown."

"Holy shit…" Sydney realized it was the asshole from the dunk tank. "Thank God you managed to talk some sense into that cunt." Gemma laughed as Sydney got in the car and dialled Clay. "Get Oswald, meet at the fairgrounds in twenty." She barked into her burner, snapping it shut, giving him no time to argue.

"Jesus, you're sounding like more of a President than him." Gemma said with a raised brow, worrying that Sydney was overstepping her boundaries to which the younger woman just smiled smugly.

"Why didn't you ever try to join like I am? You would be amazing."

Gemma chuckled. "Not doubting you there, sweetheart. John never would've let it happen, and by the time I was with Clay, I had a son - family took over for me. Clay is too protective to give me a seat at the table."

"But you know everything right? Like he tells you everything, the dark secrets, you give advice…" Sydney mused.

"Yes, I do." She smirked knowingly.

"So you keep your man happy, let him think he's in control while you pull the strings behind the scenes, do what you wanna do when it needs to be done." She surmised cockily, nodding as she sussed out Gemma's play.

"I knew I was gonna like you…" The matriarch smirked in approval. "I have a feeling Tigger's gonna have an even harder time containing you than Clay does with me."

"Can't let their lives be easy all the time." Sydney snorted, her heart fluttering when she remembered the events of the evening. "He told me he loves me."

"What?" Gemma screeched excitedly, slamming on the brakes.

Sydney howled in laughter at the over the top reaction from Gemma, unable to deny the happiness that it gave her. She bit her lip and nodded through her smile.

"You don't think it's too soon?" She asked nervously. She _rarely_ cared about the opinions of others, but she was going into this relationship completely blind with no one to consult with. If she was ever going to seek someone's approval - it was the approval of the biker queen.

"Baby, it's never too soon in this life."

"That's what Chibs said too." She chortled.

"If _Chibs_ is telling you it isn't too soon, it is definitely not too soon." Gemma nodded, resuming her previous speed. "Now what the hell happened in the photo booth?" Sydney barked out a laugh.

Sydney stalked over to the guys after Gemma dropped her off at the entrance to the fairgrounds, pure adrenaline filling her veins with the thought of what was about to go down.

"Oswald?" She questioned when she didn't see the clean shaven man among the group of outlaws.

"On his way."

"Carnie. Clown from the dunk tank."

"Jesus fucking Christ." Jax groaned, shaking his head.

"We grab him, have Oswald meet us in the woods." Clay ordered.

"Got it." Juice confirmed as he flipped open his burner.

"Good job, Princess."

"You owe most of the thanks to your old lady." Sydney winked.

"Will do." He raised an eyebrow, giving her a smug nod.

SAMCRO stomped through the grounds of the fair which had shut down by now, making their way over to the campers where the carnie guys were drinking around a fire.

"Hear you're harbouring a fugitive." Clay called out.

The wandering eyes of the sleazy, disgusting men all fell on Sydney as she stiffened in discomfort. Tig immediately pulled her behind him, he did _not_ like the way that these men were eyeing up his girl like she was a warm apple pie.

"What are you gonna do about it?" One of the bigger guys challenged.

"Citizens arrest." Clay sneered as he hit him square in the jaw, out cold. Another guy tried to sneak around the side where Sydney was as the fight broke out, which landed him right next to his buddy on the ground thanks to Tig while Bobby and Chibs wrestled the culprit to the ground, dragging him to the woods as most of the men backed off when they realized that the bikers meant business.

The rapist was on his knees in the dirt, deep in the woods when Elliot approached. "Here's the scumbag that raped your little girl." Clay pointed as the man muffled protests against a gag. "Cattle guys call this an elsie maker… It's used to cut the balls off of bulls." Sydney's eyes widened, twinkling against the moonlight whileTig gripped her hip, obviously just as excited as she was.

She was impressed by Clay's creativity, she knew he was ruthless, but on the surface he appeared more intimidating that twisted. "Strip him." He ordered to Jax and Bobby, who pulled his pants down.

"Jesus." Elliot muttered, tears in his eyes with his hands trembling while sweat beaded on his forehead. _Perfect,_

"He deserves every second of the pain." Clay coaxed.

Elliot grabbed the knife and walked up haphazardly, dropping to his knees where he pressed the tip of the blade against the blubbering man's skin, ever so slightly drawing blood as he continued to plead and cry, screaming in pain before it became too much for Elliot Oswald to bear, shaking in frustration before he ripped himself away.

"Oh Jesus." Bobby groaned.

Sydney's evil smile took over as her breathing got heavier, watching her plan unfold before her eyes. Clay cocked an eyebrow at her, showing his gratitude that her plan had worked, eyeing the knife which had dropped from Elliot's hand, to the ground.

"Wadda ya wanna do here Elliot?"

"I'm sorry." He shook his head and walked away.

Clay quickly picked up the knife with the plastic bag as Jax ripped his grip away from the man, Opie taking his place before the scumbag could break away from Bobby. Clay nodded to Sydney as the Sergeant at Arms stepped forward to finish the job but was stopped by a delicate hand on his bicep. Tig looked into her wide eyes with confusion, not understanding why she was stopping him but nodding in reluctance anyways to see what she would do.

"Hold him still." Clay ordered, Jax's confusion spiralling and the guys exchanging scowls as Sydney got to her knees before the man, gently caressing his face.

"Hi sweetheart." She wiped away his tears until he stopped his screaming against her gentle touch. "Don't worry baby... I'm gonna make sure these big, bad bikers don't hurt you, okay?" He whimpered and nodded, not realizing that she was mocking what he had called them earlier.

"Thank you." He cried as she pulled him into an embrace.

"Shh, it's okay." She cooed as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"I heard you like little girls. Is that true?" She whispered to him in a low, cold voice, just above a whisper with his head tucked into the crook of her neck.

"What the hell?" Bobby groaned in frustration, not enjoying that the theatrical blonde was seemingly wasting their time.

With one swift move, Sydney revealed a pink chrome Swiss Army knife that had been concealed along her inner arm, ripping the curved blade along the top of his nutsack and pushing him off of her to avoid the blood spatter.

"Clay! Don't make her do this!" Jax screamed as Sydney got to work detaching his organs while he screamed in excruciating pain, she gave Jax an evil smile as she finished her knife work, revelling in the soundtrack of his screaming.

Happy knew how lethal Sydney was - Clay, Tig and a few others had caught on, but Jax and the rest still had no idea to what extent she operated, watching the scene in shock. She stood up from the man who was lying in the dirt, bleeding out, wiping her knife on his shirt and tucking it back into her boot.

"This makes so much more sense now..." Opie thought out loud as he looked between Sydney and Tig. Happy walked over and placed a hand on Sydney's shoulder, giving her an approving nod.

"Tacoma Killer and the Cali Queen." Clay announced, staring at the two. Sydney swore she could feel the goosebumps wash over the group as everyone realized who she was.

"San Bern's finest." She cooed playfully before skipping over to Tig, looking up at him expectantly with those wide, innocent, green eyes.

"Take me home?" She asked sweetly. He gulped, shaking his head slightly, snapping out of his state of bewilderment.

"Sure doll." He choked out, his erection threatening to rip open the button on his jeans.

"Let him bleed out. Bury him in the woods, mark the grave." Clay ordered Half-Sack.

"What the hell are we doin?" Jax said, getting in Clay's face, earning him a menacing stare of challenge that made him rethink his statement. " I can't be your number two if I don't know where you're taking this club."

"Takin out some real estate insurance." Clay grinned. "We just bought ourselves a new warehouse, boys." Clay held up the bagged knife, cheers arose as they came to the realization of what just happened.

"So you knew this was comin… Whether Oswald had the nerve or not, this whole hunt was about blackmail."

"Well actually, the leverage was just a fortunate byproduct of my… Community spirit." Clay grinned and walked off.

When they approached Tig's bike, he gripped Sydney's elbow hard and spun her around to face him. "So the rumours are true. Cali Queen huh?" He brushed the back of his hand against the top of her left breast where her queen's crown tattoo sat underneath her shirt. She didn't answer, looking up into his eyes, trying to read his expression. His fingers trailed up her chest, around to the back of her neck where he curled them and pulled her closer to him before whispering in her ear. "You're still my Princess."

"Always, Sergeant." She choked out in a whisper as a shudder rolled through her body.

She was climbing onto Tig's bike when Clay approached, handing her an envelope. She accepted it with a crease in her forehead, opening it to reveal a thick wad of cash, eyeballing it to be about five grand.

"What's this?"

"You just saved me a shit ton of money on a rebuild. Buy yourself somethin nice." Clay winked. "Tigger, you take care of this one tonight, you hear me?" He ordered as a farewell with a raised eyebrow.

It was an easy order to follow, Tig had been dying to get her home since their little photo booth escapade had been cut short. He looked her up and down, ghosting his palm over his throbbing erection.

"Oh I will boss."

* * *

**I hope you all know how hard it was more my unromantic, hoe ass to write this mf chapter **

_**Songs for this chapter:**_

_**Johnny Cash - Jason Aldean**_


	14. Lovesick

**This one is for my nasty bitches, you're welcome **

**5 days of editing later and this is FINALLY done. Apologies if there are any typos, I cannot bring myself to stare at this mf chapter any longer bc it just drives me insane every time (in more ways than one 😅)**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr!**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 14: LOVESICK**

Tig pulled into the TM lot with Sydney on the back of his bike, climbing off and putting his hand on her leg to keep her in place. "Grabbing some shit. You stay right here, Kitten."

"I can't wait." She whined breathlessly, desperately, pouting as she clung to his arm, the extra dominance in his voice just adding to the already unbearable need that she felt.

He reached out, running his fingers through her hair before he leaned down, kissing her hard. He released one hand from her curls, gently trailing his way down her body to rub her through her shorts. Her hands immediately went to his belt buckle before he grabbed them, stopping her in her tracks.

"Looks like you're gonna have to learn some self control, pussycat." She inhaled sharply when she heard him mimic her words. He gave her a sly smirk before pressing the same tantalizing kiss on her cheek as he did the day before - the one that was full of potential and for some reason got her brain working overtime.

He hurried through the clubhouse to his dorm where he grabbed some clothes for the next day, smirking as an idea came to him when his eyes landed on his nightstand. Walking over to the small wooden chest of drawers, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs, slipping them into his back pocket when his hand brushed up against a piece of thick cardstock, making him scowl for a second before he remembered what he was touching.

The excited couple had been completely oblivious that even though they _were_ in a photo booth, there were actually pictures being taken - pictures that Tig managed to swipe on their way out. He smiled as he studied the four photos on the strip of paper. The top one was of Sydney, grinning and looking to the side as she tightened her ponytail, which he pinpointed to be the moment when he was checking to make sure that there was no one standing in line while she waited for him. The second one was him looking down at her, her up at him while his hand cupped her face and the one following that was of him kissing her. The very last one was them smiling with their eyes closed, just as they had pulled apart from each other, his hand still in her hair and hers on his face.

Tig felt his heart flutter seeing the way she looked at him, the evidence printed clear as day on the images before him. He knew she looked at him differently than others did, but being able to see it captured from someone else's perspective - to see the way her eyes sparkled but held so much depth when she looked up at him had made his underlying insecurities sink further into the back of his mind. He was glad the pictures were taken early enough to capture the sweet embrace before she gave him an earth-shattering blowjob that had gotten them escorted off of the property.

He extended his arm towards the open drawer where he intended on storing the photos before he stopped, ripping the strip in half - separating the top two from the bottom two. He held them in his hand, ghosting his thumb over her face in the photograph as he admired the mind blowingly beautiful girl who had for some reason decided that she loved him. He smiled and tucked the two photos into his wallet before placing the remaining two in the drawer, returning to her a few minutes later with a backpack slung over his broad shoulders.

When they pulled into her driveway, Tig turned around and unstrapped her helmet before holding out his hand to help her off of his bike. She felt a blush wash over her cheeks as he babied her, fully submitting to the dominance in his actions and clutching onto his large hand tightly. As soon as he was satisfied that she was safely planted on the ground, his hands went to her waist, kissing her roughly as he walked her backwards and pushed her up against the garage door. He lifted one of her legs and wrapped it around his hip as he alternated between caressing her thigh and grabbing her ass while the other hand tangled in her hair.

"I need you." She breathed out.

He nodded, the same desire bubbling in his stomach before he pushed off of her and led her to the front door which she unlocked, stepping inside with him hot on her heels. He retook control, slamming the door as soon as he crossed the threshold, pinning her against it with one hand on her waist and the other above her head. A warm sensation pooled between her legs as she realized how small she felt in his presence, his dominance, his stature - standing almost a full foot taller than her when she wasn't relying on her heels - also discovering how much she _enjoyed_ feeling small in his presence, not combatting the intimidation like she usually felt the need to.

He leaned down slowly after staring at each other, relishing the anticipation before he pressed his lips to hers again. She clawed at his black t-shirt as their teeth clashed in the heat of the moment, needing to feel his skin against hers. He got the hint as she raked her nails over his torso, flinging the confining articles from his shoulders which fell to the ground with a thud, letting her pull his shirt up before he yanked it over his head.

Next he tugged her shirt up enough that he could reach around to unclip her bra while she ripped open his belt buckle, the sound of the rattling only spurring her on. Once her tits were free of the white bra she wore, he immediately covered a nipple with his mouth, licking and biting greedily at the supple skin. She threw her head back against the door, moaning in pleasure while she pushed his pants and boxers down, her needy movements slowing considerably as his mouth slipped her into a trance.

"Tiggy…" She whined in wanton. His hands stilled her bucking hips, squeezing them soothingly before he moved to the button on her shorts as his mouth latched itself to her neck.

If there was ever a feeling for Sydney to bottle up and save for a rainy day, it was this one. The buzz of pure excitement that mixed with his slow, carefully calculated moves had her ready to burst on the spot, unable to even imagine the euphoria that she was in store for as things continued to escalate.

Tig smiled when he felt her pulse quickening under his tongue, telling him that he was working her body perfectly as she writhed under his ministrations which had him reaching peak arousal the same way that he imagined she was - his dick throbbing and feeling like it could very well explode.

"Here, now. Please." She begged through staggered breaths, her body convulsing in his hands.

"Okay baby." He whispered tenderly with his forehead against hers, kissing her lips gently as he dragged her shorts down her legs, his expression growing dark with lust when he realized she wasn't wearing any panties beneath the denim. "You naughty girl…" He growled with a grin, turning her around slowly as he stepped out of his own jeans, pulling her hips towards him and bending her over slightly before gathering the stringy black material in his hands at the apex of her thighs and pulling it apart.

Sydney felt herself getting even wetter between her legs when the sound of the tearing fabric filled her ears, her mind on nothing but the godsent man behind her as he made her need like she'd never needed before. She whimpered when his hands moved to her ass, squeezing as he spread her open for him, making her yelp when he lined himself up with her sensitive entrance.

"Tell me how bad you want it, baby." He whimpered, the intensity of the encounter taking a toll on him as well. Tig knew he was good in bed - he hadn't spent years learning a woman's body for nothing - but he'd never had a girl falling over her feet for him the way that Sydney was.

"So fucking bad." She was almost in tears, quivering while he slicked himself with her juices before slowly pushing into her, squeezing her hip in appreciation as a high pitched, breathless scream left her when he bottomed out, an abundance of staggered breaths following as she tried to compose herself.

"So damn tight…" Tig groaned, nearly cumming before he'd even started as her walls pulsed around him while he thrusted slowly to get them both accustomed to the overwhelming sensation, their moans mingling together. Once he got a handle on his self restraint, he gradually picked up his pace, watching her ass bounce with each snap of his hips.

Sydney brought her forearms up to leverage herself against the door when he began moving faster, needing something more reliable than her shaky legs to help keep her upright. She couldn't help herself from looking over her shoulder at the erotic sight, grinning and moaning louder - the way that he fucked her had taken her to her full potential, succumbing to her most sinful desires and holding nothing back.

His eyes widened as he watched her reaction, his dick swelling inside of her in response. He lifted her leg, wanting to take her as far as possible before it would be too late. She squealed when he went deeper, burying her face in her arms, the magnitude of pleasure sending her eyes tumbling into the back of her skull.

"Look at me." He commanded, bringing those gorgeous green orbs back up to his before he dipped his head down, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss, his tongue working overtime as he poured his feelings into the embrace, pleasuring her in every way possible.

The authority in his eyes and the ferocity of his kiss sent her orgasm crashing through her, slamming her hand against the door as she cried into his mouth. He pulled out quickly, wanting to make this last as long as possible and knowing he couldn't do so with her tight little pussy squeezing his dick while she came.

He gripped her biceps, turning her around and pushing her to the ground where she grabbed his cock and wrapped her lips around it in an instant, grateful for his decision because her legs would've given out if she'd tried to remain standing. He stumbled back in surprise before steadying himself with a hand on the wall. He hadn't expected her to be so eager to suck her own release off of him, just adding to the rapidly growing list of things that made him think that there was no way that she wasn't made for him.

Sydney let her heavy eyes fall shut as she sucked him off sloppily, moaning to let him know that she enjoyed pleasing him just as much as he was enjoying getting pleased. Her actions didn't last long before she was being lifted back to her feet, his tongue dominating her mouth before she could even fully open her eyes. She gripped his jaw and pulled him closer with force, the need for him not dwindling even after her first orgasm. This had been the dirtiest, most passionate sex she'd ever had, and she wasn't ready for it to end yet.

He pulled away abruptly, spinning her around by her elbow and smacking her ass before his hand gripped her throat, tipping her head up to where he claimed her lips once again, ripping his mouth away and replacing his tongue with his fingers.

"Upstairs, dollface." He ordered in her ear with a whisper, sending an icy-hot chill through her as she curled her tongue around his digits, nodding eagerly and scrambling up the stairs.

Tig pulled his boxers and jeans back on but didn't bother with the rest of his discarded clothing, bending to pick up his kutte and hanging it in the closet by the door. He grabbed his bag, locked the door, and turned off the lights before he followed her up the stairs, finding her sitting on the bed waiting for him - completely naked now. She stood as he approached, waiting for further direction but getting nothing as he stood frozen in front of her, his pupils blown out as his eyes ate up her form: tight, perfect, and all for him.

"Such a good girl." He mused almost animalistically as he cupped her face in one hand, the other trailing the top of her thigh, up to cup her breast, roughly flicking the pad of his thumb over her nipple, eliciting a gasp from her throat. He grinned at the noise, seeing her eyes filling with need before littering her body with soft kisses, scraping his teeth along her skin as he did so.

"Arms up, gorgeous." He whispered into her ear as he pulled the handcuffs out of his back pocket, her eyes flashing with excitement - a reaction that earned her a nice bite to her neck and made her cry out. She turned around with a grin, holding her hands over her head so that he could fasten the cuffs over the metal frame of her canopy bed and onto her wrists.

"Mmm." He hummed, sliding his hands down her sides as he slipped in front of her, sitting himself on the edge of her bed while she stood between his legs. "I could just leave you here all night." He growled, revelling in the softness of her body in contrast to his calloused hands, nuzzling her stomach with his nose, lightly blowing over her clit while he held her in place by the back of her thighs, his fingertips kneading the sensitive skin so close to her dripping slit.

"Whatever you want, Sergeant." Her eyes fluttered shut.

He chuckled in appreciation for her willingness to please, dragging his lips up her torso where he sucked on her belly ring before moving up her chest, his mouth engulfing her nipple while he looked up into her needy eyes. The softness of his gaze threw her off as he bit down, lightly tugging on the ring in her nipple and causing the perfect amount of pain to bring pleasure. She gasped, curling her toes as a wave of excitement rushed over her.

He lifted her off of the ground, her knees hitting the soft duvet as he pulled her to straddle his waist, the height of her bed making it so that she could sit perfectly in his lap while still restrained to the bar above her. He placed kisses all around her chest while rubbing slow circles into her ankles with his thumbs, dragging his hands up her bent legs at the same pace, smoothing up her thighs while he let his thumbs fall between her legs, ghosting over her mound. Her head rolled back in ecstasy as she shuddered, her hands pulling on the restraints as she subliminally rose on her knees, pressing her body against his and sighing in content when her bare chest met the warmth of his.

Somehow, even without the use of her hands, Sydney had managed to get Tig exactly where she wanted him. She nudged his forehead with hers, effectively tilting his head upwards to where she could swoop down and sink her teeth into his neck.

"Oh god." He whimpered, yanking her closer by her ass on instinct as she sucked his pulse and ground against his denim covered crotch. He felt her pushing herself back against his hands, catching on to what she was trying to do and sliding his fingers closer and closer to her opening, coating the tips in her arousal until she was able to push herself back far enough to make the contact that she was after.

"Tiggy…" She whined when his fingers dipped inside of her from behind while he kept his palms firmly planted on her ass cheeks so that he could tease her _just_ enough. "Let me touch you." She pouted, looking into those blue eyes pleadingly.

"You wanna touch me, baby?" He pushed his hands closer together, enough that she could properly ride his fingers.

"Mhmm…" She rocked against his hand, nodding while she widened her glossy eyes and bit her lip.

Tig was no match for that pout _or _the way she grinded against his fingers so desperately… He submitted, standing with her in his arms as he wrapped her legs around his hips. He would've been a stupid man to deny her request - that's what he told himself anyways, rather than admitting that he would give up every bit of control that he'd clung to so tightly, if it meant making her happy.

"Hold on." He instructed with a nod as he patted her thigh.

Sydney did as she was told, nodding obediently and squeezing her thighs around him to keep herself upright so that he could utilize both hands to unlock the cuffs. She zoned out, staring longingly at his perfect jawline while his head was tilted up, not realizing that she was still holding her arms above her head after he had released them from their confines.

"We'll save these for another day." He chuckled at her reaction which inflated his ego as he stroked her forearms with his rough palms, kissing her wrists before easing them down to his shoulders gently. Before he could make his next move, her mouth was attacking his jaw, kissing and nibbling. He stumbled back, gaining his footing in time to turn so that she was the first to land on the mattress with him on top of her, returning the same assault on her jaw this time as he pushed her further and further up the bed. He chuckled darkly in response to her actions, her sex drive was proving to be well above his expectations. He gathered her wrists in one hand, pinning them above her head.

"You're a dirty little girl, aren't you?" He grinned sadistically as he shoved two fingers into her weeping core, the condescending tone in his voice sending a shudder through her core which he felt on his fingers as her walls fluttered and constricted around them.

She gasped at the sudden intrusion, her pupils blowing out as he stared deep into her eyes, panting while he hovered over her helpless body, unable to compose herself enough to speak when she found herself completely at his mercy before her lips curled into a devilish smile and her eyes glinted. She gripped his wrist, slowly sliding his fingers out of her and bringing them up to her mouth, sucking her juices off of his digits and nodding with her eyes wide. She felt him hard as a rock against her abdomen as he shoved his tongue in her mouth the second his fingers left it, pushing her down into the mattress before he pulled himself away, kneeling between her legs and releasing his painful erection from it's denim confines.

As soon as his pants were out of the way, Sydney was yanking him back down to her lips, running her hands down his back as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pleading with her eyes. He teased her, rubbing the tip of his dick against her entrance a few times before finally pushing inside of her, making her gasp and squeal beneath him while he growled against the sensitive spot on her neck, pulling back and sliding slowly back in, burying himself completely in her heat until his hips were flush with hers. Her breathing hitched and a squeak left her throat when his length hitting a spot inside her that she didn't even know existed, clawing at his back. He nibbled up and down her neck lightly as his pace became that of a jackhammer, pinning her arms above her head and pushing them into the mattress to leverage himself. She cried out again at the change in pace, every thrust sending a new wave of pleasure through her body. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold off when she felt herself tightening and apparently did he too.

"Don't hold back beautiful." He kissed her collarbone delicately.

She let herself go, tensing up and then going to completely limp while her body twitched around him, her walls threatening to push him out. He marinated in her moans and gasps for a few seconds before flipping her over onto the mattress and shoving his cock into her from the new angle, his own eyes rolling back now as he listened to her cry out for him. He grabbed her hair, leaning down as he pulled her head up, biting her earlobe as he came, finally slowing his pace.

"Tig!" Sydney cried out between moans, the deep penetration from this angle as he came down from his high caused her to cum again as he slowly pushed in and out of her.

"Fuck doll." He panted, pressing a kiss to her shoulder blade and pulling out of her as she whimpered. He rolled onto the bed beside her, gently rubbing her back and pressing his lips to her neck.

Sydney would never admit it, but this was one of her favourite parts about being with Tig: the aftercare - praising her with soothing words and gentle touches for accepting his roughness, reminding her just how soft he could be. All she could do was moan in approval as her eyelids got heavier as a result of the come down, still unable to speak coherently.

She awoke under the covers with her head on Tig's chest as he stared at the ceiling, his arm wrapped around her, stroking her hair and holding her hand. He was off in the heaven that having her in his arms created when he felt her stirring, pressing a gentle kiss on the top of her head, sending her drifting back off to sleep peacefully.

Tig awoke the next morning without the feeling of Sydney's skin on his, his eyes opening frantically when he came to and realized that she wasn't in the bed next to him. He looked around the room, seeing that the bathroom door was open and the light was off, indicating that she was gone from the room. He could help but feel his heart quicken in worry, wondering if she had changed her mind, gotten scared off by the conversation that transpired the evening prior. He shook the insecurities from his head, getting dressed in his jeans and boxers before heading downstairs to look for her, quickly smelling bacon as soon as he opened the bedroom door.

Sydney had spent fifteen minutes easing herself out of bed and out of his grip that had remained throughout the entire night before she was finally able to tiptoe out of the room successfully.

A huge grin appeared across Tig's face when the kitchen came into view, laying his eyes on the sight straight out of a dream: Sydney barefoot, wearing only his shirt and a pair of panties, hair bobbing around in a loose bun while she hummed and spun around the kitchen making breakfast.

He ran up behind her, picking her up and spinning her around as she squealed and giggled. She adjusted herself in his arms, wrapping one of hers around his neck as he moved one from around her waist, to the back of her thighs so that they were facing each other.

"Now aint this a pretty sight…" He growled playfully. "God I fucking love you." He beamed with a melting heart.

"I love you too." She whispered as her face reddened, kissing his cheek as she giggled against his ear. He lowered her feet to the ground, pulling her hips back into his morning erection as he whispered into her ear.

"I could listen to you say that... All... Damn... Day, pussycat." His words were broken up by smooches being placed on her neck before she turned to face him, still grinning with sparkles in her eyes.

"You might have to." Her eyes slid over him lazily, completely mesmerized by his form. She broke her trance and playfully slapped him on the peck with the spatula in her hand. "Now you better make it up to me for ruining the surprise." She turned back around to the stove as he laughed.

"Sorry, first time I've had a girl leave _me_ alone in bed."

She chuckled, which quickly turned to a gasp as his hands snaked up her shirt and over her tits, his thumbs finding her nipples with ease, causing her back to arch further into him.

"Something tells me you're not sorry at all." She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmm not at all." He hummed into her neck. "Now how bout I make it up to you..."

She reached over and turned the stove off, giggling as she walked him over to the couch, straddling him while he pulled her shirt over her head.

Later that day, the happy couple made their way to the clubhouse. Gemma had scaled back Sydney's hours at the bar since she had seemingly become a member of the crew, so tonight she got to relax and enjoy the party. It was a beautiful evening, warm air clung to Sydney's exposed skin as she held onto Tig on the back of his bike. She had his backpack on her shoulders, which she had filled with her own stuff to bring to his dorm - him leaving some of his stuff at her house. Tig got off his bike, looking Sydney up and down as she leaned back slightly, allowing him to peek up her black denim miniskirt.

"Givin me flashbacks to the other night." He quirked an eyebrow and rustled the chain on his hip. She laughed, being sure to spread her legs a little extra as she dismounted his bike.

Tig quickly grabbed his backpack from her and pecked her cheek, effectively making her swoon - she loved that he was so masculine and gruff, but so incredibly sweet and gentlemanly at the same time. She grabbed his hand, yanking him back to her as she crashed her lips into his passionately, swooning again as she felt his smile against her mouth, listening to the whistles coming from the garage.

"Can you believe that _he_ got _that_?" Lowell Jr. asked Juice as they tightened the fan belt on a Toyota.

"No." Juice scoffed.

Sydney waltzed into the clubhouse to see everyone preparing for the festivities to come. A few crows stocking the bar and cleaning the tables nodded at her as she passed, making her smirk proudly at herself for not only holding the respect of the men, but of the women too. They knew who she was and what she was capable of if she was given a seat at the table, and now they knew that she was with Tig.

Despite the reputation of the crazy man, Sydney trusted him with all her heart, she knew his feelings for her were just as real as hers were for him, but knowing that most of the crows were scared of her was definitely a nice bit of reassurance. She couldn't help her mind from wandering to how things would be in the long run if it worked out between them… _What about when he was on long runs?_ She knew the rules, and she wondered if her being more involved in the club would make him think that her acceptance of the rules meant that it wouldn't bother her. It was easy for some old ladies to turn a blind eye to what they didn't know, it's the kind of thing you have to expect when you're with a biker, but Sydney had no idea where she stood with it. She was stuck between her allegiance to the life, and her love for Tig. It would crush her if he was with anyone else, she just didn't know enough to be able to gauge whether or not it might happen one day. She decided to ignore it for now, things were great and she would cross the bridge when she came to it.

Once in Tig's dorm, Sydney sat on the bed while he started undressing for the shower. She couldn't help but stare as he took his shirt off, making him smile cockily.

"You can put your stuff in your drawer if you want, darlin." He said before disappearing into the bathroom. She felt the bubbles in her stomach rising when she heard him say 'your drawer', _she _had a drawer, in _his_ room.

She folded her clothes neatly and laid them into her drawer inside his dresser before she sat back down, noticing the overflowing laundry basket in the bottom of his closet. She snickered and rolled her eyes, scooping up the basket of dirty clothes and carrying it to the back storage room which held the washer and dryer. She started the washer, turning to leave when she was faced with Jax in the doorway.

"Wow… Didn't expect to see the Princess doing his laundry."

"Has anything you expected from me, really panned out?" She mused playfully.

"Good point…." He snickered bashfully. "You know that's a croweater's job." He nodded towards the appliances behind her.

"Laundry aint the only thing I do that would be considered a croweater's job, sweetheart." She smiled sarcastically with a wink.

"So how's that goin anyway?" The Vice President questioned with doubt and confusion heavy in his demeanor.

"Good, I think." She nodded.

"He seems happy… Didn't think he was the type for that shit."

"So I've heard… Well, I'll have you know that your Sergeant is very _capable_." She winked again as she slipped past him, making him blush before turning around to stop her.

"Sydney." She turned around, looking to him expectantly. "We're gonna fight like goddamn siblings, aren't we?" Her lips curled up.

"Maybe you're smarter than I thought." She smirked. "We _are _both reaper royalty after all."

Tig was still in the shower when she returned, so she took the opportunity to properly look around his room, surprised that she hadn't done so beforehand - she was always so observant and thorough but he had completely thrown her for a loop.

She noted a few trinkets here and there, a few posters of bikes and naked girls, a Marine Corps badge, an outdated Harley calendar, but what piqued her interest were the few pictures he had along the mirror frame. She ghosted her fingers along the photographs, the first one of him with a few guys on a military base; one had spikey blonde hair and another was bald and hispanic but the smile widened on her face when she saw him; clean shaven, lighter and shorter hair with his eyes were exactly the same. The next photo was of Dawn and Fawn - his twin daughters - when they were toddlers. She easily picked out his features in the young girls, Dawn had the dark curly hair and Fawn had the blue eyes, and the last one was of him and Clay from years ago, standing side by side in the TM garage.

Tig came up behind her in the mirror, but she was too invested to acknowledge him. She felt his hand circle her waist, a genuine smile radiating his face. He'd never had someone take so much interest in his life before, someone who cared enough to try and peel back all of his layers, which for the first time in his life - he was happy to do.

"How old were you here?" She nodded to the picture of him in the Marines,

"Little younger than you. Careful doll, you might catch yourself a case." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"I might…" She agreed with a lazy grin. "Although… I think I'll stick with being the cause." She looked him up and down as his damp body glistened before ghosting her fingertips up his chest, bringing them back down the way they came, hooking into the towel around his waist.

"You always this horny, little girl?" He grimaced. Tig had the labido of a teenage boy, he was surprised that she was not only keeping up - but was running laps around him, completely addicted to the rush that she got off of his love, the satisfaction never lasting long before she needed more.

She giggled and pulled the towel free, looking up into his eyes as she sank to her knees slowly, speaking against his skin. "Only for you. Why? You can't keep up, old man?" She playfully bit his hip bone as his erection grew by the second.

As soon as her teeth left his skin, her feet left the ground. His hands gripped her biceps, roughly placing her on top of the dresser, earning a gasp as excitement flooded her veins. He hummed low, leaning in as he pressed his hands against her hips, plotting a punishment. She loved exploring his dominant, animalistic side, seeing him become more and more comfortable showing it to her as she pushed his buttons.

"I'm gonna let you get away with that for now pussycat, but only cause you look real pretty for tonight. But when the party's over, you better be ready for me." He informed her with his blue eyes blazing.

"Yes, Sergeant." She panted out, breathing heavy from the adrenaline.

"Good girl." He nodded curtly in approval, giving her a quick peck and lifting her off the dresser, pushing her down to her knees.

She giggled, teasing him a little for good measure by placing butterfly kisses down his stomach, along his length and up to the tip before taking him in her mouth, earning her a groan as he stumbled back into the dresser. Her tongue was flattened along his underside as she hollowed her cheeks, sucking his cock further into the back of her throat while she swallowed around him. He went to grab her hair to steady himself, but quickly shifted to her shoulders instead, remembering that she had just finished getting ready for the evening.

The motivation behind Sydney's strategic actions changed from mitigating her impending punishment, to showing her appreciation for his thoughtful gesture. She felt him start to convulse, pushing lightly against her face to stop her but she grabbed his wrist firmly, looking up into his eyes as he came, swallowing his release and slowly sliding her lips off of his impressive length, flicking her tongue over his sensitive tip and giggling when his knees buckled.

When she got to her feet, he brought her in for a passionate kiss, hands still on her shoulders, his tongue claiming her mouth. He walked her backwards to the bed as she giggled and pulled away, knowing if they started now, there was no chance that they would be joining the party tonight.

"I have to go move your laundry."

"I didn't start any laundry?"

"I know." She smirked, slipping out the door.

When she returned, Tig was fully dressed, wearing a black short sleeved button down and dark grey jeans with his kutte. She stared wide eyed at him from the doorway, enjoying the sight of him clothed almost as much as she enjoyed him unclothed.

She walked over to the bed and sat back down with her eyes still glued to him before he came to stand in front of her - straight faced, looking down as he cupped her jaw lightly as a diversion before he grasped her calves and pulled her down, quick as a flash. She let out a shriek of surprise and laughed as her back hit the bed, her giggles quickly changing to soft whimpers when he removed her panties under her skirt, letting them fall to her ankles and burying himself directly in her folds. She squealed in delight, arching her back and gripping the sheets, curling her red painted toes against his back as he flicked his tongue over her clit at lightning speed.

His eyes were trained on hers the entire time which only intensified the sensations, her hands moved to his hair, gripping and pulling at his curls, eliciting growls as he devoured her pussy, his sounds sending vibrations rippling through her body. Between the way he was working and her body still sensitive from the rounds this morning, it didn't take long at all for her to cum.

Tig grabbed her hands and hoisted her to her feet, giving her no time to calm down. Her legs trembled and her face flushed as she tried to gain her bearings while he pulled her panties back up, giving her a light smack on the ass before straightening her skirt, winking as he reached for her hand, leading her out to the party.

"I'm gonna see if Gemma needs help with anything." Sydney said shakily, still swooning over his actions - and recovering from her orgasm.

"Okay baby." He gave her a kiss on the cheek but it wasn't enough for her, grabbing his arm and yanking him to her lips, needing to somehow release some of the emotions she was harbouring.

Tig smiled against her mouth, understanding perfectly what she was trying to convey, pulling her into his arms after parting his lips from hers. He rocked his weight from one foot to the other, thinking about how he would much rather be shacked up with her for the night than be drinking with his brothers - something he never thought he would turn down. _Guess that's why they call it the honeymoon phase..._ He pressed his forehead against hers, staring into her eyes lovingly before making his way over to the pool table where most of the guys were hanging out.

Sydney headed outside where she found Half-Sack barbecuing, or... Was attempting to. The poor kid winced in discomfort as he threw the heavy slabs of ribs on top of the roaring flames.

"Uh, you need some help over here Kippy?" Half-Sack whipped around to face her, beads of sweat covering his forehead.

"Oh! Uh… No I'm fine! I got it, you know… Cooking and stuff." He nodded.

"So that's why you just threw a full rack onto open flames?"

"Are you… Not supposed to do that?" Sydney laughed, reaching over to turn the heat down, grabbing the tongs from his hands.

Twenty minutes later, after barbecuing the ribs to perfection, Sydney walked back into the clubhouse with Half-Sack, bringing the finished food to the matriarch in the kitchen for her final touches before it was up to her standards and approved for display.

"If you ever want to enjoy a meal again, do not put the prospect on barbecue." She advised after Half-Sack was out of earshot.

"Ah shit… Did he ruin everything?" Gemma groaned with a trace of panic in her voice.

"Nah don't worry, I got to him before that could happen." Sydney snickered.

"Well thank god for that, the last thing I wanna deal with is this group when they're hungry."

"How's Abel?" Sydney hadn't been updated in a few days and their visit the day before had been delayed.

"So far, so good." Gemma smiled.

"Oh thank god… Jax been by to see him?"

"Yeah, the good doctor talked him into it." The sarcasm in Gemma's voice could've been detected from miles away.

"You don't think people change." The newcomer surmised in the form of a statement rather than a question, it was clear by Gemma's demeanor that she thought of Tara the exact same way that she did when the young girl had left her son all those years ago.

Sydney still hadn't decided what to think of the uptight brunette, but what she did know was that the rapist wouldn't have been caught, and Abel likely wouldn't be alive without her help, help that she gave without obligation or gain.

"Not in our world, sweetheart." She shook her head before heaving up the heavy tin full of barbeque sauce slathered ribs, heading out towards the food table. Sydney chuckled in response, understanding the truth to Gemma's words - at least enough truth for her to know that it wasn't worth the argument.

Sydney rounded the bar, grabbing a beer from the fridge and popping the top off on the edge of the counter, looking up to see Happy standing in front of her.

"What's up, Happy Feet?" He grunted when she used the pet name.

"Where's Tig?" It was obvious by the accusation in his tone that he didn't agree with curly haired Sergeant leaving his woman alone during a club party.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know, where's barmaid blondie?" She referenced the little blonde he'd scooped up from the fair with a tilt of her head and raised brows to emphasize the ridiculousness of his question.

"I aint seein her again."

"No wonder you aint seein her again." She scoffed. "You're never gonna find a girlfriend dressing like that." She nodded to the oversized attire that his stocky frame drowned in.

"What's wrong with this?" His scowl deepened as he looked down at his kutte, white tee and blue jeans.

"Happy, girls don't like this." She grabbed his shirt, lifting it to reveal his chiseled abs. "They like _this_." She smirked before he ripped his shirt back down and swatted her hand away.

"The fuck do you know about what girls like?" He stomped off before she could make a remark about yet another stupid question, leaving her standing at the bar giggling as she watched him stride angrily through the crowd.

Sydney was joined at the bar by Chibs and Jax who waltzed over with loaded plates. "Quick question Chibby, why the _fuck_ did you sponsor a vegetarian virgin prospect?"

"Wait, the kid doesn't eat meat?" Jax questioned with a lip turned up at the disgrace.

"Don't know, but he definitely doesn't cook it." Her eyes fell to their plates, piled high with a variety of meats fresh off the grill. Jax dropped his rib down on the plate with a look of horror on his face while Chibs held his inches from his mouth. "No no don't worry, they're fine." She snorted, almost choking on her beer. "I wasn't about to let him fuck up some prime babybacks."

"You made these Lass?"

"Well they didn't get cooked to perfection on their own." She joked, smacking Chibs on the shoulder and turning to get herself another beer while the two men exchanged a glance.

"You hungry?" She stood from the fridge to see Half-Sack, panting after making a hasty journey from the grill to the bar.

"Yeah, burgers done?" He nodded eagerly, running off to fix her one before he was stopped by Jax.

"Bro... You don't know how to cook ribs?"

"I don't eat meat man." He tried to say nonchalantly but his uncomfortable fidgeting gave him away, taking off towards the serving station before the hassling could start.

The giddy prospect stood at the burger station, where Tig and Bobby were talking with Gemma and Clay. He got to work assembling Sydney's plate, smiling to himself when he thought about the spunky new girl who had befriended him. He grabbed the mustard, but his hand was stopped by a ring covered hand. He looked up to see Tig - and not happy a Tig, a Tig who had just witnessed him smiling like a school girl while he thought about _his _girl.

"If that's for _my_ girl. I wouldn't be puttin that shit on there unless you want a size nine Steven Madden up your ass." The much younger and much smaller man nodded his understanding nervously, averting his eyes from his threatening gaze.

"Did I just hear that come out of _your_ mouth?" Gemma, Clay, and Bobby all shared the same scowl over the words of the notoriously gruff and dismissive Sergeant at Arms.

"What! You learn that shit when ya got an old lady." He shrugged.

"I never learned that shit." Clay shook his head. "Hey Bobby, you ever learn that shit?"

"Never brother."

"Please for the love of god tell me that you did not put pickles or mustard on that." Sydney's eyes widened when Half-Sack came jogging in with the plate of food he'd fixed for her.

"No. Your uh… Old man wouldn't let me." Sydney scowled, looking outside to see Tig standing in the doorway, winking at her. She blushed and bit her lip, trying to contain her smile, rolling her eyes when he laughed at her knowingly.

After everyone's stomachs had settled, the ring fights began. Sydney loved watching the guys get riled up and blow off steam, the sound of the heavy boxing gloves making contact with skin had always sent a wave of euphoria through her.

She evaluated each fighter as she watched closely, Half-Sack was way better than she'd expected, his small, lanky size working in his favor for agility as he successfully took down multiple party goers, Juice, and Chibs before he eventually lost to Happy even though he'd put up a good fight.

"Not fightin tonight baby?" Sydney placed a hand on Tig's chest as she approached while the next fighter suited up to take on the Tacoma Killer.

"Nah, gotta let the others have a chance at winning, for once." He shrugged.

She smiled and raised a brow, giving him a discerning look while she held back her laugh. "Shame, I was looking forward to it." She shrugged before ripping herself away from him and returning to her spot across the ring by Chibs.

Jax was Happy's next opponent and it was a pretty fair fight so far, the blonde man was doing good until he let Happy get him into a headlock, eventually tapping out under the tight grip of the muscular Nomad.

"Oh come on! You can do better than that!" Sydney screamed at Jax from the sidelines while smacking the side of the ring.

"You go then, Princess." He countered playfully, tossing her the gloves.

Many eyes fell on the petite blonde as she caught the gloves, everyone expecting her to back down or laugh it off, surprised when she shrugged and slipped one on. Tig's eye widened, immediately stalking over to her from his group on the other side of the ring.

"You sure you're up for it little girl? Been a while."

"Tacoma Killer'll beat the hell outta that tight little ass'a yours." Bobby warned.

"Good thing I'm into that." Sydney winked.

"Woah woah woah." Tig gripped her biceps lightly, his eyes wide with panic. "What are you doing?

"Dinner and a show." She smiled, tiptoeing to kiss his lips. "Hold these, will ya?" She dropped her earrings into his hand.

"No offence darlin, but…" Jax looked in Happy's direction while she slipped her shoes off.

"No offence, _darlin. _But you have no idea who the fuck you're talking to." She spat cockily, winking at him as she shoved her Steve Maddens into his chest, entering the ring barefoot.

"Cali Queen, so I've heard." He challenged, even if he _did_ know, what he didn't know was that if anyone was in trouble, it was Happy.

"Well! It sounds like you do know, I must admit VP, I'm a little offended by your lack of faith." She turned her attention to Happy. "You're right Hap… It has been a while, and from what I remember, we have a score to settle." She confirmed the challenge with an evil smile and a crazy look in her eyes which were bordering on black from the lack of light.

Happy's eyes filled with fire as he reminisced over the days where he'd taught Sydney to fight, her getting good enough over the years to the point where he actually had to try to beat her.

"What the hell?" Gemma exclaimed when she reached the group standing at the side of the ring in awe.

"Princess' showin us what she's made of." Clay stated casually as he lit a cigar.

The opponents grinned wildly at each other as they circled the ring - Sydney studying his every move, mimicking every step he took.

"C'mon Happy Meal, I haven't taken a punch in weeks. A girl has needs." She egged him on in a voice as sweet as pie until he finally threw a punch, which she blocked - a few more coming after, blocking two and dodging one. "That's what I'm talking about." She grinned, the adrenaline lighting that familiar fire within her. The crowd was captivated, ohing and ahing at every move as her constant dodging and blocking got him riled up - serving to tire him out, just as she'd planned.

"Come on! Hit em!" Chibs hollered impatiently.

Sydney stopped to listen, Happy taking the opportunity to swing a right hook. She ducked down, not even looking in his direction as his arm swung over her head, swiftly coming up as he recovered from the force of his angry right hook, hitting him once in the gut, once in the chest, and upper cutting him all in a flash. It had been obvious from the start that Happy was stronger, but she was _fast. _

After a few more hooks were thrown, Happy managed to link one of her arms, pulling it behind her before grabbing the other one. She tried to get loose of his grip as he attempted to wrestle her to the ground, hopping over the foot that swung to trip her. In their struggle, she managed to get over to the corner of the ring by one of the large posts.

"You ready?" She heard him grunt in confusion at her words from behind her.

Channeling all of the adrenaline to her feet, she ran up the padded pole, kicking off of it and flipping over Happy, his grip loosened in the moment where she caught him by surprise - but hers didn't, rotating in his as she flipped, pulling his arms behind his back now and using his position to her advantage, safe landing with both feet. She knew this wasn't exactly the fight that the crowd wanted to see, but she wasn't about to show her cards all at once - plus, she didn't mind the nostalgia of being her highschool's wrestling champion.

In Happy's bewildered state, she swiftly kicked the back of his knee, dropping him to the ground and forcing her right elbow into his spine to keep him down while she kept his left arm linked in hers, behind his back. Happy squirmed but was no match with her elbow immobilizing him. _Back of the knees_ \- her signature move, the one that nobody saw coming and always underestimated.

She came back to earth, the ringing in her ears fading when she heard the crowd cheering loud as ever, counting down the second to her victory - thanks to Hap's inability to tap out.

"Too much time away from me Hap, seems you've forgotten about my favorite sweet spot." She cooed in his ear ride before the crowd exploded in cheer as the clock ran out.

"I am totally hard right now." Tig muttered.

"Yeah... Me too." Juice replied slowly.

"Damn Princess." Happy stood and cracked his neck. "Better than last time. Who you been trainin with?" The pride for his protege overtook his bitterness over losing.

"This is all me, baby." She flipped her hair.

Half-Sack raised her arm in victory before she bowed for the ecstatic crowd and exited the ring where Clay lifted her up onto his shoulder for a victory lap. Once she was back on land, she turned to Jax who inhaled sharply, waiting for what he knew was coming.

"You up next VP?" She asked innocently, grabbing her shoes from him and slipping them back on. Jax just shook his head and walked away as she chuckled.

"I'd offer to patch you up, you're still sittin pretty, Angel." Tig handed off her silver hoops.

"Always." She smirked, laughing when he scooped her into his arms bridal style and carried her to the clubhouse.

"Where ya takin me Sergeant?" She cooed playfully with suggestion in her narrowing eyes.

"Not where you think, Dollface." He growled with a clenched jaw. She pouted slightly when she didn't get the answer she wanted. His emphasized alphamale demeanour was making her pussy throb, she had gotten a taste earlier and she was desperate for more. "You aren't ready for me yet sweetheart." He scoffed, knowing exactly what that look meant, making her heart quicken before he set her down on top of an empty picnic table outside of the clubhouse.

"Stay here." Sydney narrowed her eyes as she watched him walk into the clubhouse, rolling them as she looked away.

"Alright, doll." Tig returned with a bottle of Jack, slamming down on the table. "Here's how this is gonna work. You're gonna tell me all this shit I don't know about you."

"Oh am I?" She scoffed.

"Yeah. You are." He demanded, sliding the bottle across the table.

"You think just because you're fucking me full time, that I'm gonna give it all up that easy?" She smirked as she riled him up, figuring that if she was already facing punishment, she may as well make it worth it. She took a gulp and stood from the table, shoving the bottle into his chest. "You'll find out soon enough Sergeant." She winked at him before strolling into the clubhouse.

"You're gonna regret that pussycat." Tig growled into her ear when he caught up to her, returning the bottle to the bar. He ground his teeth when she looked up at him with those wide eyes in response, the combination of her deviance and innocence was driving him absolutely wild, trying as hard as he could to hold off on marching her to the bedroom for sassing him.

It didn't take long for the victory party to move inside once the object of celebration was no longer occupied - the guys and random SAMCRO associates feeding Sydney shots. She downed a few, passed some off to others, and gave some to Tig before she started refusing them altogether, excusing herself to use the bathroom.

She was not surprised when a confused Tig ran up behind her, what she was surprised about however, was the amount of concern in his action as she gently grabbed her waist, stopping her stride, expecting him to push her up against the wall or threaten her for toying with him. The uncertainty sent a wave of excitement through her, causing her to break her facade.

Tig pulled her around to face him, crinkling his brows slightly as he met her warm smile and pink cheeks - not what he expected to find.

"What's wrong doll?" He asked anyways, even though he was now wondering if maybe he had just overreacted.

"Nothin, Tiggy." She replied sweetly as she smiled up at him and placed her hands on his chest.

"You sure? You're not drinkin-" So far he had yet to see the fish of a girl turn down an open opportunity to drink him and his brothers under the table, but he trailed off when he saw her eyes flash from sweet to sinister. She leaned in, twirling a hand in her hair, looking up into his eyes which shone with excitement, and spoke seductively.

"I'm just trying to be a good girl for you, Sergeant. You wouldn't want me to be too drunk to understand my punishment later. That would mean that I might do it again… You don't want that, do you?"

"Yeah..." He said in a trance. "Yeah you're right babygirl." His tone was gentle and appreciative as he stroked her hair before he kissed her on the forehead. She closed her eyes as his lips met her skin, but they quickly opened back up when she felt the gentle petting on her hair tighten as he gripped it in his fist. "Don't be thinking that's gonna get you off the hook." He sneered low, gritting his teeth before he pushed off of her and walked back out to the party. She huffed in frustration as she watched him walk away after doing an equally good job at riling her up - she was dying to see what he had in store for her and she was dying to see _now_.

After Sydney finished up in the bathroom, she headed back out to the party where her eyes landed on the poker-turned-pool table, flashing with excitement. Chibs, Tig, Bobby, a few randoms she'd seen at the parties before, and Half-Sack were all getting ready to play.

"Come to watch me clean em out?" Tig pulled her into his lap as she walked over.

"Come to do it myself." She replied cockily, biting her lip deviously as yet _another_ chance to surprise Tig had presented itself without her even trying, knowing that she was _really_ in for it now. Tig raised an eyebrow. "You didn't really think you were going to play without me did you?" She cocked her head at Half-Sack who looked nervous, immediately dealing her in. She moved to her own chair, as far away from Tig as possible, knowing that he would try everything he could to crack her poker face - also knowing that it would probably work. She was sure to grind against him extra hard as she stood up - just for good measure, smirking at him as she sat across the table.

It was over an hour into the game and Sydney was doing just what she had planned. She'd gotten two of the three randoms out entirely and had the biggest stack on the table. A few more hands played out before Chibs went all in and Sydney successfully called his bluff, getting him out too.

"There is no damn waye yer this good at poker." Chibs groaned as he slid his chips to her growing pile.

"Had to pay the bills somehow." She shrugged.

"Figured it was stripping." Bobby scoffed, bringing his beer to his mouth.

"A girl's gotta eat." She replied studiously, bringing Bobby's eyes flying directly to the sparkly rings covering her fingers, wondering how much truth there was to her statement. "So who's giving me their money next?"

It was down to the final rounds, between Sydney, Bobby, and Tig. Her cards weren't great, but by the way the betting was going, theirs weren't either and this was Bobby's last round, figuring she could end it quick by going all in and flushing them out.

Tig was trying his hardest to read her expression, studying every inch of her angelic face when suddenly it hit him: the slightest pinkening in her cheeks, something that nobody else would've noticed.

"All in." He shoved his impressive stack of chips to the centre of the table.

"You sure about that Sergeant?" Sydney raised a brow.

"Let's go, Princess." He motioned for her to flip her cards. She bit her lip as she flipped them, revealing that her hand was only a measly pair of sevens. His face dropped, hers lit up.

"Shit…" He cursed as his face dropped, making her light up. "You did good pussycat…But not good enough." It was her face that dropped now when he revealed his pair of eights. She cursed herself for letting his charm get the better of her as she slid a large majority of her chips over to him, ignoring the satisfied grins from the opponents she'd beaten.

Half-Sack dealt what Sydney knew would be the final hand, which played out exactly how she had expected: Tig running up the bets and flushing her out. He shot her a shit-eating grin as Bobby handed him his pay out, making her inhale sharply as she pushed away from the table and stomped over to the bar. It didn't take long until she caught the expected whiff of whiskey and cologne, turning around theatrically to see Tig standing over her.

"Not gonna stick around to congratulate your old man?" She glared up at him, still pouting over her loss. "That's what good old ladies do, sweetheart." He tried to work her up even more - her trying equally as hard by not giving in - leaning in closer to her ear when she didn't budge. "Thought you were bein a good girl for me tonight doll?"

She ran her tongue across her teeth, trying her hardest not to let up on her hardened expression as she stared up at him through her eyelashes. She could see the frustration building in him, the fire igniting behind his eyes, trying to keep her raging satisfaction at bay. He looked her up and down and chuckled low, a rumble that was evil enough to scare her a bit, grabbing her elbow and yanking her towards him.

"That's enough. My bed. Naked. Ten minutes." He snarled through grit teeth.

She was fighting everything in her not to submit and she would've found it much easier if he wasn't using his Sergeant's voice. She knew she couldn't mask the look in her eye, but she didn't move a muscle in her body, her eyes following him as he walked away.

The next eight minutes was spent contemplating whether or not she would show up late, or be waiting for him fully clothed - she finally decided on fully clothed, figuring she would give him the short lived satisfaction of watching her walk to his room. Her time was running out and she was getting up to leave when Clay approached her.

"Hey, can I talk to you there uh, heavyweight champ?" She chuckled. "You ready to ride out on Monday?"

"Got her all tuned up, figured I'd get it done well you kept my Sergeant busy."

"Your Sergeant?" He joked. "So that's goin well I take it."

"Seems to be, say anythin about it?" She asked as casually as possible.

"More than enough." He raised an eyebrow, making her blush. "He keepin you happy?" She looked down shyly, brushing her long hair behind her ear to reveal a cluster of both old and new hickeys. "Forget I asked." He winced and looked away dramatically, making her laugh. "You use any of that money yet?"

"Why? You gonna ask for it back?" She mused playfully.

"Nah." He chuckled. "You earned that. Gonna secure our new warehouse this week. Want you there for that."

"Yes sir." She nodded, inadvertently glancing up at the clock and seeing that she was due in Tig's room in less than a minute. Panic washed over her face, realizing it was no longer in her control which command she would be choosing to disobey because at this rate, it would be both.

"Uhh it was nice talkin to ya Pres, but I've got somewhere I need to be." She said as she stood up hastily.

"Everything okay Princess?" He scowled as he saw her expression change.

"If you want me in tip top shape for the ride on Monday... I would suggest that you let me get on my way." She said cryptically, slowly backing away.

"Jesus Christ." He grimaced when he finally caught on with the help of her grin.

Sydney laughed as she took off quickly down the hall, realizing she hadn't seen if Tig was still amongst the party. She silently prayed that he wasn't back yet, opening the door slowly and peering around it, sighing in relief as she stepped into the empty room but her sigh was cut short when her _usual_ favourite scent filled her nostrils. Her stomach sank and her eyes widened as she slowly turned around, jumping when the door slammed behind her.

"Cuttin it close there dollface."

She backed towards the bed as Tig approached her, tall with his chest puffed out, her knees hitting the mattress and causing her to fall back.

"I-I'm sorry Sergeant." She stuttered as he cupped her jaw - rough and assertive. This was the first time she'd looked at him in her exaggerated innocence, completely organically. He moved his hand down to her throat, growing even hungrier when he saw the fear in her eyes.

"You're not sorry yet darlin." He tipped her head up as he leaned down, kissing her roughly. "Get those clothes off. Now."

She stripped for him deliberately, fast enough to satisfy his command, but slow enough for him to enjoy the show - her core igniting with the need to please, trying to maintain her nervous appearance when he walked over and placed his hands gently on her waist. She tentatively reached up to start unbuttoning his shirt, uncertainty in her eyes as she silently asked his permission to which he narrowed his eyes discerningly, making her smile bashfully, biting her lip as she continued. She placed gentle kisses on every bit of his skin that she exposed as she undressed him, pulling away when she heard him chuckling at her efforts, looking up into his eyes apologetically.

Tig was surprised at how good she was at the little girl act, considering just how hard of a time she caused for anyone who thought that they could tell her what to do. He pushed her to lay down gently as he straddled her, still wearing his boxers. He kissed her passionately, slowly - confusing her, letting her think that her minimal efforts had actually worked. She ran her fingers through his hair as their tongues tangled with his hands on her waist. She lifted her pelvis to grind against him, trying to get some release but his hand quickly slid down to her hip and pinned her to the mattress.

"Not so fast babygirl." He spoke softly. "My little princess needs to learn what happens when she tests my patience." His tone changed to a hushed growl, directly in her ear. Her cheeks flushed and her body was instantly covered in goosebumps as the nervousness returned to her eyes.

He kissed gently down her neck, making his way to her nipples, taking one in his mouth and sucking hard. She moaned and suddenly felt him cease all contact. His face was at hers again, his hand gripping her throat.

"You make a single sound, and it's game over, Pussycat."

"But that's not fair Serg-" Her whining was quickly cut off by him roughly flipping her onto her stomach, pinning her small frame beneath him as a loud clap echoed off her ass the second she landed.

"Nah sweetheart." _Spank_. "What's not fair." _Spank._ "Is you." _Spank_. "Walkin around here." _Spank. _ "Like." _Spank._ "You own." _Spank. _"The damn." _Spank._ "Place." _Spank_.

Sydney grew unbelievably horny as the stinging that spread through her body turned to adrenaline that needed release, she tensed and wiggled under his grip as she tried to stifle her moans when he rubbed her bright red ass cheeks, soothing the burning that followed the pins and needles. His hand dipped between her legs, grazing her glistening wet folds which made her gasp as her entire body jolted at the contact, which she quickly concealed with heavy breathing.

"You like when I punish you, don't you?" Another spank. "Horny little brat."

"No, Sergeant." She lied before he plunged his fingers into her, ripping them out just as quick.

"Liar." He spanked her harder than before. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as her insides tightened, silently cursing herself for being so weak but she couldn't help it, she would've given anything at that moment if it meant release.

"Don't forget what I told you." He pulled her up by her hips so that she was on all fours, snaking his hand down to clamp over her clit, not moving his fingers. "You can lie to me, but this pussy can't." He could feel her trembling as he lowered himself down, his chest on her back, speaking into her ear. "You gonna be a good girl and listen from now on?"

"Yes, Sergeant." She whimpered, instinctively rocking her hips to try and get some friction where his fingers were, grinding her ass against him, which earned her another hard spank before he pulled himself away, leaving her on her hands on knees for what felt like ages. The anticipation grew as he moved around the room, undressing himself fully before his hands returned to her ass, making her jolt again, throwing her head back to try and contain her gasp

"So beautiful." He mused while rubbing the red handprints on her ass, planting open mouthed kisses all around them, dipping his tongue inside her core. She remained still and quiet- determined to get her reward, opting to clutch at the duvet instead.

He pushed two fingers into her when she didn't break, testing to see how far she would push herself, curling them the way he knew she liked. He was getting off like crazy seeing her like this - completely intoxicated off the power she let him have, letting him take her from the independent woman who played by her own rules, to the obedient little girl that worshipped him like he put the stars in the sky: the reaper princess, the one no one could handle_, _completely at _his_ mercy.

"That's enough babygirl." He decided when his dick became painfully hard, unable to hold out any longer. He pressed a kiss against her cheek, ignoring the devil on his shoulder that was calling him a pussy for letting her win, once again because even though he was losing, was he _really_ losing? He ran his fingers through her curls gently while she quivered at his words. Sydney had never realized that a man's words could stimulate her so intensely, until she met Tig.

"C'mere, angel." He couldn't help himself from praising her as he brought her into his arms, placed her onto her back. He hadn't even started fucking her yet and her eyes were already rolling back against his touch, the tears of restraint loosening from them. He lifted her legs and pushed straight into her while she was unfocused, the sudden pressure mixed with the intense wave of pleasure and the relief of finally having him inside of her, made her let out a scream. She quickly shut herself up but it was too late, another tear of frustration falling when he pulled out of her.

He cupped her face with both hands, leaning into her before chuckling sadistically and pushing back into her. He set a brutal pace, the position of her legs on his shoulders causing him to hit her g-spot perfectly. Sydney didn't care once the sound of slapping skin and the bed frame slamming against the wall filled the room, she was screaming his name, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop if he wanted to.

He quickly felt her clenching around him, holding her head still he looked deep into her eyes as he brought her to her release, him cumming at the same time - something he didn't expect to do but torturing her had inadvertently done a number on him as well. Stars exploded before her, making her vision go from his gorgeous crystal blue orbs, to black spots.

Tig let her slowly drift back to earth again before he pulled out, getting up and walking to the side of the bed, removing the covers and laying down before pulling her on top of him and covering them back up. She cuddled against his chest as the aftershocks pulsed through her body while he rubbed her back and kept his lips pressed against the top of her forehead, the sweet gesture making her hug him tighter.

He hooked his fingers under her chin. "Was that too much?" He asked softly. He knew she liked it when he was rough and dominant, but the tears this time had thrown him for a bit of a loop.

"I'm great, Tiggy."She smiled sadistically and bit her lip, the concern in his eyes turning immediately to lust.

"Oh yeah, Princess?" He raised an eyebrow with challenge in his tone as he picked up on her satisfaction.

"Mhmm." She hummed, shifting her gaze from his eyes to his lips. She leaned in to recapture his lips with hers, smiling when she felt that he was still hard against her hip.

"You like it when daddy's rough with you?" His hand slid up and down her ribs, the calluses rubbing against the sensitive skin. Sydney felt every single one of her female organs tingle as the word slipped out, biting her lip and widening her eyes, nodding innocently. "Does my Princess want more?"

"More daddy." She whispered.

"Mm, you are perfect." He said dreamily as he caressed her face, she felt her entirety melting against his touch. His hand moved down to her hip, rolling her onto her back.

"You're a little slut for me, aren't you?" His hand quickly found her wetness once again.

"Yes." Her eyes fluttered as she moaned - which she was glad to be doing freely this time - lifting her hips to rock against his hand.

"That's right baby." He whispered against the skin behind her ear.

Before she knew it, much like the first time, he entered her deeply in one swift thrust. A tidal wave of shock and pleasure hit her, causing a scream that caught in her throat as her breath hitched. He pulled out almost all the way, being sure to let her feel every inch as he watched himself slide out between her tight lips.

She leaned up onto her elbows, dragging a foot up his chest and feeling him swell as she clenched tightly around what he had left in her. He hummed in approval, seeing the hazy, seductive look on her face that could be caused by nothing in this world but the feeling of him inside her. He caressed up her thighs, ghosting his thumbs over her mound as she moaned and clenched even tighter.

"Fuck." He drawled out, eyes rolling back.

"Tiggy." She moaned in wait.

"Beg me." He ordered as he squeezed her thighs tight, his lips brushing against her temple as he spoke.

She shuddered, collapsing back onto the bed. "Fuck." She sighed. "Please Tiggy, please fuck me." He slowly eased himself in and back out as he did before, watching her eyes roll back as her body curved and quivered under him. "Give it to me. Please."

"Good girl." He hummed before finally beginning to rock into her, being sure he went as deep as possible. He loved that way her breath would catch in her throat, feeling her tingle when he would reach untouched places deep inside of her. He gripped her waist, pulling her bottom half up into his lap - her ass resting against his thighs, pushing even deeper. He picked up his pace as he pulled her to meet his thrusts, enjoying the view before him.

A mixture of both of their moans yanked Sydney to the edge. "C'mon babygirl, cum for me." He flicked his thumb over her clit, sending her tumbling down the cliff. He fucked her through her orgasm, glad to have more control of himself during the second round but even then, he came as well not too long after - thanks to her low moans that the extra sensitivity caused as he thrusted into her. He pulled out and assumed the same position as before, pulling her to lay on him as they both panted and returned to reality.

Once Sydney's breathing had regulated and drowsiness set in, she reached a hand around to the back of Tig's neck, pulling him with her as she rolled onto her side. She looked up at him deeply, mimicking the same sparkling look of adoration that was in his eyes.

"I love you." She said quietly as she kissed him. He wound his fingers in her hair, gripping it tight as his arms flexed around her back, pouring his emotions into the kiss before he pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you too." He kissed her forehead and hugged her tight, releasing slightly but keeping a grip firm enough for her to know that was how she would be falling asleep that night. She pressed a gentle kiss against his chest before nuzzling into him and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Songs for this chapter:**

**Look back at it - A Boogie wit da Hoodie**


	15. The Princess and The Killer

**FINALLY what you've all been asking for: a glimpse of Sydney's past (and her relationship with Hap), I have WAY too big of a soft spot for them so this chapter is a fave of mine **

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 15: THE PRINCESS AND THE KILLER**

Sydney woke up the next morning still in Tig's arms while he laid snoring lightly on his back with one arm across his chest and the other under her, clutching her tight into his side. She savoured the warmth of his body against her skin, her chest bubbling with giddy excitement as she watched his rise and fall - a feeling she was still growing accustomed to.

His eyes fluttered open as she admired him, as if he knew she was looking at him. "Mornin." He grinned when he saw her bashfully biting her lip.

Sydney couldn't contain herself any longer. She draped an arm over him and placed sloppy kisses all over his face. "Morning" She greeted with a grin matching his.

He turned onto his side and pulled her into his chest which was buzzing with happiness. "You sure I'm not dreamin?" He looked down at her with a brow raised.

"I don't know Tiggy, do I feel real to you?" She asked innocently, running her hands down his chest, ghosting her palm over his morning erection.

A sigh of satisfaction left him before he leaned to kiss her softly, rolling her over so that her back was against his chest. She could feel the aching of bruises from the punishment she endured last night as she pressed her ass against him, a sickly sweet pain that made her smile in memory.

"Oh I'm definitely dreaming." He chuckled while his hand ghosted up and down her side, caressing from the top of her breast down to her thigh as she ground into him. He massaged her clit slowly as he attached his lip to the skin in the crook of her neck before lifting her leg and sliding into her.

"Mm can I wake up like that every morning." Tig groaned lazily as he nuzzled her neck once their morning tryst had concluded. She chuckled as he laced his fingers with hers, pulling her in tighter.

"Why does everyone think you're incapable of this shit?" She asked incredulously as she rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows, not understanding how he could be such an ideal partner with the voracious warning he'd brought on.

He sighed. "Never seen me do it, only see me doin the dirty work, guess it's easy to assume that I'm just incapable of feeling."

"Well are you?" She prodded with a playful smirk.

"Thought I was for a bit." He shrugged. "I mean, I feel shit for my daughters, my brothers when I need to, but that's about it. Until you came along, made me remember what it's like to feel somethin for someone more than a couple times a year." Sydney couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face when the sincere words left his lips in that raspy voice that she loved so much.

"You wanna hear me say it don't ya?" He sighed heavily, knowing what that sparkle in her eye meant. Her lips curled up as she nodded eagerly, he chuckled and rolled onto his back, sighing heavily. "There ain't nobody on this damn planet that drives me as crazy as you." She giggled. "You make me feel like I'm not a freak. Like I'm easy to love. The typa shit I do... Women can't understand it, can't be okay with it, and I can't hide what I am." His expression changed as he stared at the ceiling, recounting everything in his brain. "But you, you do the same shit. Don't gotta worry bout scarin you away cause you're standing right next to me while I'm doin it. You take care of yourself, don't rely on everyone else. You actually make me fuckin laugh. I know shit with us'll never get boring." He sucked in a breath. "You're nothin short of perfect darlin. Fuckin beautiful, sexy as hell, and don't even get me started on that pussy." Sydney laughed. "You're what every outlaw dreams of finding.." She chortled, trying to remain modest as she revelled in his compliments. "I don't feel like I gotta change to be with you, but you make me wanna be better for you."

Sydney's eyes sparkled as she grinned like an idiot, an expression that he mirrored before rolling on top of her and assaulting her entire upper half with kisses. She giggled, burying her face in his chest, unable to believe that under the bulletproof exterior, there was such a sensitive, sweet, and loving man, a man that she couldn't stop herself from falling head over heels for, even if she wanted to.

"I'm gonna marry you one day, babygirl." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head. She felt every nerve in her body short out. _Tig Trager? Marriage? To her?_ "Trust me darlin, I never thought I'd hear those words come outta my mouth again either." He chuckled when he felt her tense up.

"Damn Sergeant… A week with me and you're already talking about marriage? Wonder what else I can milk ya for..." She teased, shooting him her shit eating grin for a change.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." He groaned as he grabbed her and started tickling her, eliciting a loud shriek and a fit of hysterical laughter. Tickling was one of Sydney's absolute weaknesses, enough that she ended up bucking out of his grip and rolling off of the bed, landing with a thud. "Oh Pussycat, you are in big trouble." He shook his head in mock-warning after they finished laughing.

"You better not, don't think I won't stay here all morning." She tried to say through her heavy breathing. He shot her a discerning smile of challenge, daring to call her bluff. She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest, yanking the blanket off of him in one swift pull and beginning to make herself comfortable on the floor.

"Babe." He whined when he was hit by the cool air thanks to the air conditioned room in the middle of summer. She raised an eyebrow in wait for his surrender.

"Come back, I promise I won't." He pleaded.

She wearily got up and crawled back onto the bed towards his outstretched arms, laying down with the blanket wrapped around her and her back to him as she bit her lip, fighting an evil grin. Suddenly her body jolted and another shriek left her lips as his fingers jabbed into her sides, immediately releasing her grip on the blanket in response so he could pull it over him. She glared at him as she shook her head with a discerning smile before rolling back into his arms.

The fluttering in Tig's heart continued even after the playful struggle was over. She made him feel more alive than he had ever felt in his whole life. She looked up at him as he sat with a permanent smile on his face with his eyes glossed over. She bit her lip, grinning evilly as she captured his hands in hers and rolled on top of him, pinning his hands above his head.

"You know..." She started. "I couldn't help myself from falling in love with you even if I wanted to. So you better get used to bein tied down like this Sergeant, cause ya aint gettin rid'a me." She said against his mouth, ghosting down to his neck before kissing it slowly, passionately.

"Wouldn't dream of it baby." He choked out as his eyes rolled back.

Sydney and Tig finally got up to shower after laying in bed for a while, neither of them being morning people at the best of times. Luckily, club business wasn't taking place until later on in the evening, so they had the day free to spend together.

Sydney glanced around his bathroom, glad that she had known to bring her own toiletries. Growing up around men, she knew that he would undoubtedly have a bottle of cheap two-in-one men's shampoo and conditioner which would simply not do the job on her long blonde mane.

She stepped under the stream of warm water, closing her eyes as it cascaded down her body. Tig stood still for a few minutes - watching her, wondering what was going through her mind. Seeing her so relaxed and focused put a small smile on his face, which turned into a cocky smirk and twitch in his dick when she turned and he caught sight of the dark handprints on her ass.

"What do you think about in there?" He announced from the doorway of the bathroom. She had let herself get so deep into her head that his voice startled her a bit, _at least it wasn't the toilet…_

"Wouldn't you like to know." She smirked.

"Think about me?"

"Mmm baby you have no idea…" She said seductively, trailing her hand down her stomach towards her mound before pulling it away and turning back to the hot water with a playful smile. Tig shook his head before climbing into the shower behind her, jumping back the second the scalding water touched his skin.

"Jesus! Are you showering with fuckin Satan?"

"Don't be a pussy." She laughed, motioning for him to come closer.

"You're used to showering with Hap." He chuckled, holding his stance.

"The devil himself." She smirked before rolling her eyes and adjusting the temperature, dramatically motioning to the now lukewarm water. He chuckled nervously when she didn't deny his claim, stepping forward into the spray that anyone would've still considered to be too hot.

"You sure nothing's ever happened with Hap..." His tone was more inquisitive than accusatory. It's not that he didn't believe her, he just couldn't wrap his mind around how his nymphomaniac brother could be in constant close proximity to her and keep his hands off.

The question made Sydney realize for the first time that maybe part of the reason she'd never sought out a boyfriend was because she knew deep down that it would likely compromise her relationship with Happy - she knew that what they had wasn't normal or conventional, and wouldn't surpass potential lovers.

"Yes." She replied meekly, willing herself to keep eye contact to prove her innocence, no matter how badly she wanted to pull away from those crystal blue eyes.

"I'm not accusing you baby. It's just-"

"I need you to understand something." She cut him off, her tone going cold as she inhaled deep into her chest. "Me and Hap aren't like that. The way Happy is with me, it's not... It's not _that _kind of love." His expression remained sympathetic, but it was clear that she would have to elaborate if she really wanted him to understand.

"Besides my dad, he was the only family I had, and my dad was gone _a lot_, which meant Happy was around. Since I was three years old, he was there. _Always_ there. _He_ was the one who made my lunches for school and helped me with my homework, _he_ was the one who gave me baths and tucked me in at night." She paused, checking herself before she unnecessarily lashed out at his questioning over the sensitive subject. "Tig I'm not good with..." She took a breath of frustration, forcing herself to open the gates of vulnerability for the sake of the man she'd fallen in love with. "I know I seem like I'm not scared of anything. For the most part, I'm not, but Happy's the reason why. He taught me how not to be afraid. He's the only person who has ever seen me be... Not what I am today." She struggled to choose the right words as she was reminded of her regretful past. "He slept in my room when I would have nightmares after my mom OD'd. I never grew out of it because it was the only thing that made me feel safe, that I didn't have to provide for myself."

"Okay." Tig nodded in understanding, he didn't know what else to say other than to voice his acceptance of her words with compassion.

Sydney knew that if she wanted him to _really_ understand, she had to give him more. She figured now was the time to get out as much as possible while the floodgates were open and he was listening intently without any anger or accusation so far. She inhaled deeply with her eyes closed before starting.

"I'm not gonna say this more than once…" Tig nodded. "When I was sixteen, I made a… Stupid mistake." She spoke bitterly as she recounted the event, one of the _very _few times that she had stupidly let her guard down. "I'd just gotten my first car, piece of shit junker and the engine died on my way home. I called my dad, he told me that him and some of the guys were on the way. Bikes rolled up behind me, the lights were bright so I couldn't see who it was but the timing seemed too right to be a coincidence. Once I got out and realized it wasn't them, it was too late."

"BTT." Tig stated, making a mental note to throw the San Bernardino crew a beat down if he ever crossed paths with them.

"You know?" Her question came out like more of a statement.

"Heard about it… All they said was that it was 'close to home', had no idea it was you." Tig vaguely remembered Clay mentioning it at church years ago. "They didn't…" He didn't want to finish the question regarding how far the attack went.

"No." She said quickly. "One guy had a gun in my face, told me I'd be another dead skank on the side of the road if I didn't do what he wanted. Threw me against the car a few times and then told me how he was going to rape me. My dad and a few others showed up before anything worse could happen... I was covered in bruises, three broken ribs, cracked collarbone and a fractured jaw." Tig winced, clenching his fists and looking down as the rage filled him. "Hap killed them." She halted his anger before it boiled. He nodded, letting the rage subside.

**The prospect had been ordered to bring Sydney to the hospital while the others were out gathering intel on the crew responsible, but apparently that was not in Sydney's plan, not letting the younger man near her, let alone to take her somewhere that she didn't want to go, so he called the only man that he knew would be able to get the job done.**

**Happy left the manhunt, racing back to the clubhouse where he stormed in, in search of Sydney and the useless prospect. Deep down, he knew that Sydney was a force to be reckoned with - one that caused him great difficulty on the best of days, but he was too angry over the entire ordeal to accept anything other than the fact that the prospect hadn't done his job.**

"**Uh… Hap?" He heard a meek voice, turning to face the prospect - the prospect that was supposed to be with Sydney.**

"**Where's Sydney?" He demanded an answer from the younger man.**

"**That's part of why I called you… She wont even let me near her."**

"**And you left her alone after you were told not to?" He seethed anger at the thought of the young girl alone after what she had just endured, noting that the man walking on thin ice already had now not only failed one order, but two.**

"**She put a gun in my face man!" If Happy hadn't been so worried, he probably would've been proud of that. **

"**Don't count on that rocker." He snarled before hurrying to Sydney's room at the clubhouse, trying the door and finding it was locked. He knocked lightly a few times, thinking she would open up if she thought it was her dad. No response. He eventually grew frustrated and began pounding on the door, knowing it wasn't going to get him a good result under the circumstances but being unable to reign in his anger over someone hurting her. **

"**Syd!" He yelled, still getting no response. He kicked the door in without thinking as he was overcome with worry over **_**why**_ **she might not be answering the door. Once he was inside the room, he felt his heart sink at the sight before him - the battered teenage girl sobbing into her pillow. His blood boiled as he noted each and every mark visible to his eye, where their hands had been. **

"**Sydney…" His voice cracked, apart from finding out his mom was sick, this was the only time in his life where he actually felt like he could cry. She looked up at him, eyes red while tears streamed down her face. **

**He sat on the bed where she choked on a sob and crawled over to him. He pulled her into his arms and held her while she sobbed, willing himself to stay strong for her. After sitting like this for a while, he began to worry, he'd managed to harness his emotions but she wasn't calming down. **

"**It's gonna be okay." He repeated a few times, trying to at least regulate her breathing with his words. Finally he figured that sitting caked in blood and filth from the attack wasn't helping her calm down so he scooped her up into his arms and brought her to the bathroom, placing her onto the closed toilet seat. "Gotta get cleaned up." He didn't mention the fact that he would be taking her to the hospital after.**

**Sydney didn't say anything but she knew he was right. She started to undress while he drew her a bath, yelping in pain as a tender bruise under her shoulder blade was disrupted but her attempting to lift her shirt over her head. Happy's heart clenched as he heard her cry of pain, quickly taking over and helping her out of her clothes gently. He winced as he took in the sight before him, the beautiful girl covered in purple welts and dried blood.**

**He took her hands, guiding her towards the mirror when she immediately started shaking her head in protest. **

"**Hap I can't look." She became hysterical again.**

"**You need to." He urged. He'd never seen her so scared before and he was determined to make this situation one that she would learn from, not break from.**

"**No, no I can't. Please Hap I-" **

"**You need to." He whispered gently, rocking her in his arms. She let him slowly guide her closer to the mirror until she worked up enough courage to open her eyes, wincing and snapping them shut when she caught sight of the state of her body. Tears came harder as the pain she felt was no longer from her injuries, but in her heart. **

**Happy turned her away from the mirror and got her into the bathtub where he gently cleaned her tender body. Her sobs eventually reduced down to sniffles and heavy breaths as she closed her eyes, trying to focus on the comfort that the water usually brought her. **

**She opened her eyes a while later, a gasp catching in her throat when she glanced down at the water, muddy and rippled with blood. **

"**Shhh." Happy placed his hands over her eyes and pulled the plug, quickly refilling the tub with fresh, clear water. "Okay." He nodded in satisfaction and removed her blindfold. "Bruises fade." He reminded her. "Aint nothing that could ruin that pretty face." She gave a weak smile, the bruises on her body weren't what she was worried about as far as long term damage went, it was the bruise on her ego. **

**Happy wrapped her in a towel after he was satisfied that she was clean, carrying her back to her bed and setting her down before grabbing some soft clothing for her to wear. **

"**We need to go…" He spoke softly as he helped her into the clothing, wincing in preparing for the protest he was about to face.**

"**No! No Hap I can't go, there's lots of people there and-" **

"**Once the shock wears off, you're gonna need those pain meds." He reminded her of the severity of her injuries.**

"**Okay." She relented once her brain was focused on the pain and not combatting his orders, realizing the truth to his words. **

**Happy drove them to the hospital in silence, the guilt setting in for what he was about to do. He left her in the car, sure to lock the doors before he arranged a room and spoke to the doctors about what happened, knowing that sitting in the emergency room was the last thing that Sydney would want to do. **

**When her room was ready, he ushered her through the waiting room, avoiding the eyes of as many people as possible. He helped her into her hospital gown and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels until he landed on some trashy reality show that he vaguely recognized as one she'd made him watch before**

"**I gotta go." He announced regrettably after he tucked her into bed. **

"**What? Hap you can't leave me here alone!" She began hyperventilating, ignoring the excruciating pain in her chest, unable to believe that he'd convinced her to come here, just so that he could leave her.**

"**I called Donut." He knew she didn't want to be in the presence of anybody else, but he hoped that his choice of chaperone would be enough to mitigate her anger.**

**The Tacoma Road Captain was one of the only people that Sydney had taken a strong liking to and that Happy knew could comfort her, the burly man was much more sensitive than the stoic Nomad. He didn't get to visit San Bernardino much, but when he did, Sydney was at her happiest. As soon as he'd gotten the call from his former Tacoma brother, he sped off in the direction of San Bernardino without a second thought. **

"**I don't want him to see me like this!" She screamed, choking on a sob as she lifted her hand to strike him, but froze, bringing it crashing down to the stiff mattress before completely breaking down. She knew that Happy was doing everything he could to make this easy on her, while still doing what he needed to do.**

**Happy felt his blackened heart breaking. He never thought that her **_**not**_ **hitting him would upset him, but it only added to the obvious damage that had been done to the usually strong willed and feisty girl in front of him. **

"**I don't trust anyone else." He sucked in a breath in an attempt to hide the crack in his voice.**

"**Hap don't go." She pleaded with her pain filled eyes, the eyes that he couldn't say no to at the best of times, let alone now. **

"**I'll be back." He shook his head as he stood from the bed before she took his arm into a death grip. **

"**Girl…" He tried to warn as calmly as possible, surprised by the amount of strength she still had as she clung to his arm. "You know I can't let them get away with this." He sneered through gritted teeth and pushed her off of him gently, his mind filling with rage as he thought about all the things he was going to do to the pieces of shit who dared to lay a hand on his princess. **

"**Happy no, I have a bad feeling." He sighed heavily, sitting back down on the bed and attempting to soften his demeanor. He knew she was being irrational and was probably playing up her reaction to make him crack the way that she knew he would, but she had good reason and he figured if he appeased her until Donut arrived, he would be doing himself a favor down the road. **

"**What kind of feeling."**

"**I dont know I-"**

"**It's just nerves, I'm gonna go fix it."**

"**What are you gonna do?" **

"_**I'm gonna fix it.**_"

"**Well damn Princess… I'd hate to see the other guy." A smooth voice carried across the room from the doorway. Sydney looked up to see Donut standing with a bouquet of flowers and a sly grin on his face. **

**The brown haired man was in agony seeing the apple of his eye in such a state, but he had been called in on a mission to help cheer her up while Happy found the scumbags who did this to her, and that's what he was going to do.**

"**I'll be back to get you outta here when I'm done." Happy promised, taking her small hand in his large ones and squeezing. "Te amo." He rested his forehead against hers as he spoke, making sure that she soaked up the sincerity. He stood and nodded to his longtime Tacoma pal before taking his leave, stalking out of the hospital with murder inhabiting every cell of his body. **

"I was a fucking mess that night. You think I'm feisty now? Imagine me as a teenager." Sydney chuckled in an attempt to bring some humour to the sorrowful tale. "I was in so much pain, mad at myself for letting it happen, angry that the club didn't let me kill them myself." She shook her head. "Happy saw the whole thing and he knew how to make it better. He got me cleaned up, took me for a drive, got me to eat and let me burn their bodies." She smirked a little. "He was the only one who didn't look at me differently after that. Didn't look at me like I was helpless, like I needed protecting. I didn't feel like I had something to prove to him, like I did the others. When he was patching me up, he didn't look at me like I was a piece of meat, the way that men usually look at me. I can't let go of the way I feel with him Tig. It's one of the only things that keeps me human."

"I know it's complicated, and I know there are things that cross the line." She wanted him to know that she still intended to be respectful of the fact that she was a taken woman. "I know where the line is if I'm going to be with you, but if you want to be with me, you need to know where it is too. Because no matter what, no matter how much I love you, I will always choose Happy."

Tig had to admit the words did sting a little, but he understood. "I uh- I feel that way with Clay and Gem, for the longest time they were the only ones who I felt I could talk to, trust, show myself to." This situation only presented another way in which they were perfect for each other. Tig had endured his fair share of accusations from Colleen regarding his relationship with Gemma and he had always chosen his friend over women who couldn't understand that it was all she was to him - a friend.

"I wouldn't ever take that away from you baby, I know how important it is in this life... With what we do." Tig knew that his tattooed brother was just as loyal, if not more so than he was. He wouldn't risk his patch to tap a brother's old lady. Sydney nodded, the dissociative look still on her face as she came back from the trying mental state, locking up those damned gates.

"Thank you." She looked into his eyes. "Not just for understanding, but for letting me say all of that..."

"You're a hell of a lot better with words than I am, Angel." He chuckled, reaching out and trailing his fingers up her arm. "I don't mind, as long as I'm the only one who gets to do this." He said as he ran his hands up and down her body, descending his mouth onto hers. She wound her arms around his neck, curling her fingers into his damp hair and sighed against his mouth.

"I'm all for you Tiggy." She whispered, brushing her nose against his affectionately.

They showered together tenderly, more tenderly than she would've ever imagined. He washed her hair for her, gently taking his time worshipping her as she stood in front of him, her body curling at his gentle touch. There was some component of the touching that wasn't sexual - just appreciative, but she knew there was a hint of possession in the way that he babied her, which she didn't mind one bit.

He turned her around to rinse her hair so she was facing him, she closed her eyes and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him guide her completely. He tugged at her hair gently, bringing her head back just far enough to rinse all of the suds out before he rested his forehead against hers, kissing her nose. She smiled at the cute gesture as he moved down to kiss her lips, the position causing her back to arch and her body to press against him completely.

"Baby." She whined when his arm wrapped around her waist and his lips moved to her neck, enjoying the intimacy far too much as he moved his hands up and down her back, his fingers tracing along her spine.

"Does my Princess like this?" He mumbled against her neck. She looked up into his eyes and nodded innocently as he stroked her hair and reattached his lips to hers, continuing his soft and gentle movements.

"You hungry?" Sydney asked Tig as he was getting dressed.

"See doll, this is why I'm gonna marry you." He chuckled, winking before he left the room.

She chortled to her reflection in the mirror and began getting ready for the morning. She put on one of his t-shirts and tied it into a knot in the front, then slipped into a pair of leggings and her black fuzzy slides, pulling her wet hair into a bun on the top of her head before making her way to the kitchen, hearing only a few people awake in the bar from the night before. She was glad that Gemma kept the club kitchen fully stocked as she got to work preparing breakfast for everyone, knowing that the hangovers would be heavy.

She headed out to the bar to do a headcount, seeing multiple crows passed out around the room, Juice on the pool table, Bobby on the floor, Chibs on the couch, Happy at the bar - who was being pestered by Tig, Half-Sack cleaning up, and Jax in his room.

"You need help babe?" Tig called as she entered the room.

"No I'm fine, hangout." She smiled, handing him a cup of coffee. He pecked her on the cheek before she returned to the kitchen and began frying up multiple packs of bacon and sausages, as well as scrambling two dozen eggs - knowing the way that these men ate.

"So, you guys are the real deal?" Happy regained the Sergeant's attention after massaging his throbbing temples.

"Oh yeah man." He gushed.

"Don't fuck her around. Spent a lot of time teaching her she's special. Ain't about to have _you_ fuck it up."

"Brother, I saw what she did to you last night... Wouldn't dream of it." He chuckled.

"For real. That one's somethin you'll never find again. Deserves the world. Been teachin gashes how to be old lady material since she was a kid. Only reason I'm lettin it happen's cause I've never seen her want anyone." Happy let his words soak in for a few seconds before going back to freak mode - his usual setting around Tig. "So how is she?" His black eyes glinted as he grinned wickedly.

"Like you don't know... I hear the way she talks to you man." Tig scoffed and raised a brow at his tattooed brother. Yes, Sydney had wiped up every last drop of confusion that he may have had about what kind of relationship she had with Happy - but Happy didn't know that, and Tig was never one to shy away from hassling a brother, _especially _Happy Lowman.

"Only talks to me like that to piss me off, knows I won't do it."

"I don't know how you don't." Tig scoffed.

"Want me to do it?" Happy retorted impatiently, his response getting the desired effect as Tig backed down. "She doesn't fuck around with _anyone_. That one's a tease - gets a kick out of it. DINO guys hated it." Tig looked down and smiled, he was feeling his own butterflies now, wondering what made him so special to her. "Never had anything serious with anyone. She dabbled with a couple scrawny bitches back home to keep the guys away, chew em up and spit em out when she got tired of entertainin em. Funny shit."

When Happy had first met Sydney, he was a young, freshly eighteen year old prospect from Tacoma. Even all those years ago, he was still stoic, tattooed and terrifying but for some reason the little blonde toddler shadowed him like no other. He remembered the first time he met her, he was drinking at the SAMDINO clubhouse when he felt something clutching his legs. His immediate reaction was recoil, not expecting to look down and see a toddler hugging his legs and laughing. He'd told her to get lost, but the second she opened her mouth to tell him no with a high pitched giggle, jumping to be picked up, he'd sold his soul to the little girl. Happy was surprisingly great with kids now, but it took some growing into - thanks to her.

Growing up, Sydney wouldn't let anyone else care for her or hold her if he was around, not even her own parents. The tattooed man had been her hand chosen babysitter, having to be the one to watch movies over and over and read bedtime stories; he didn't mind though, it gave him an excuse to exercise his love for cartoons. Happy knew it was that time spent together that made them so close - a closeness that was too close for them to ever be in love, the love between them was that of family. He was there for her and her dad when her mom had overdosed. Comforting was not Happy's strong suit, but he knew how to make the little girl happy - how to distract her, how to get through loss, and that carried on for the rest of her life. He'd given Sydney her first tattoo when she was seventeen: a happy face, it only seemed fitting. When she turned twenty and had earned herself a reputation as the Cali Queen, she let him give her the crown on her chest, telling him that the next tattoo he would be giving her would be her reaper.

Happy had made it his life's ambition to have Sydney know her worth - make sure she never got hung up on some pretty boy - and damn, had he outdone himself. He had helped mold the single strongest woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

"I'll treat her right." Tig said honestly as he nodded at the bald man.

"I know. Hundreds of guys'd kill to be where you're at with her. Still can't believe she let someone hit it."

"**Another one over here sweetheart." The attractive man with dirty blonde hair tossed Sydney a wink from down the bar in the San Bernardino clubhouse. She flashed him a smirk before grabbing his beer, sauntering over to him with a swing in her hips. She leaned over the top of the bar with her tits on display, flirting with the man whose name she learned was Jason. He was attractive enough that she actually enjoyed his attention, but not nearly enough to let him take her to bed.**

"**Gotta head out." He said abruptly, the influx of leather wearing men being the cause - no doubt. He had a tone that told her that he was trying desperately to sound like he had somewhere important to be, but she knew he was just scared. She turned around to greet the Sons, ignoring the front that the pussy was putting up.**

"**Hey sweetie." Her dad addressed her quickly as he walked past. **

**Happy walked around the bar, pouring himself a whiskey and narrowing his eyes at her with a smirk, nodding towards where Jason had been sitting. **

"**He'll be back for you."**

"**I bet he will." She scoffed. **

"**Gonna let someone hit it?" He questioned with knit brows, knowing how hard it was to earn a spot on her exclusive roster. **

**She couldn't resist the urge to press his buttons when that scowl appeared in the crevasses of his face. Getting closer to him, she slowly pressed her body against his as she pushed him against the bar. **

"**You offering?" She asked in a low whisper with hooded eyes. He hesitated for a second before pulling away, rapidly shaking his head. **

"**Shouldn't say shit like that little girl."**

"**Aww why not Happy Feet?" She mock-pouted, ending her facade with a smirk once she was met with the warning glare that she knew all too well. "I'll start throwing bones when I know I'll get a good one in return."**

"Yeah... tell me about it." Tig said dreamily.

"Hurt her, and I'll slit your throat." Happy said casually and clapped him on the shoulder as Sydney walked out holding two plates, placing one in front of each of them.

"Coffee, Hap?" He nodded. "Still take it black I assume?" He nodded again. "Great talk." She said sarcastically before disappearing back into the kitchen.

On her way back out to the main area with her own food and the coffees in hand, she noticed Half-Sack scrubbing vigorously at the floor, cleaning what she assumed was vomit. She chuckled, feeling sorry for the poor prospect.

"Hey Kippy, you eat yet?"

"Nah, I been cleanin all morning."

"Well there's eggs and coffee in the kitchen, sorry I didn't make any tofu." She pouted playfully.

"Thanks Syd." He rolled his eyes.

She waltzed over to where Tig and Happy were at the bar, opting to stand opposite to them while she ate. "Damn little girl, I knew there was a reason I missed San Bern."

"I thought you were lookin a little skinny these days." She chuckled, poking Happy in the ribs with her fork. "How's Ma?" She piped up, realizing she hadn't spoken to Happy's mother since she'd left. It was odd, she thought - how right SAMCRO felt, how right Tig felt. It all felt so right that she'd completely forgotten that she had a whole other life back home.

Happy's mom's health had improved since it brought him to San Bernardino to care for her, hence why he was bouncing between Tacoma, San Bernardino, and Charming as a Nomad.

"Good, misses ya, told her we were here together, she's happy." He nodded with a smile.

Esmeralda Lowman was like a mother to Sydney - being an old fashioned latina woman, she babied her and cared for the young blonde whenever she could. Sydney smiled warmly, trying to figure out if Mrs. Lowman had known all along that her and Happy would be in Charming together when she'd told her that she was transferring - it definitely wouldn't be unlike her to keep it a surprise.

The three of them heard Bobby start to wake, all laughing as the discombobulated man stumbled about the room littered with unconscious party goers.

"Breakfast's in the back, sleepin beauty." Tig called as Bobby made his way to the kitchen, stopping halfway down the hall to throw up.

"Oh come on man…" Half-Sack groaned from the end of the hallway where he had emerged from the kitchen after finally finishing his cleaning.

"Jesus Christ man." Jax came barging out of his room to see what the ruckus was, scowling when Bobby ignored him and continued his path. "Dude, where're you goin?"

"Breakfast" He stated.

"Gemma here early?" Jax crinkled his brows and rubbed his forehead.

"Princess." The older man managed to choke out before a coughing fit began

Jax's crinkled brows turned into a deeply confused scowl. "Youre tellin' me the _Princess_ is goin domestic?"

"I ain't complainin" Bobby rounded the corner, both of them chuckling as Jax followed him to dish up.

The VP walked out into the bar with his plate of food, sitting down beside Tig. "Laundry and dinner yesterday, breakfast today… You got a good one here brother." He smirked.

Sydney and Tig both smiled proudly. Tig couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found her - he had the girl everyone wanted, the girl everyone dreamed of having. The one who not only embraced the club with open arms, but who was practically a member. The one who acted like an old lady, loved and took care of him, fucked him like her life depended on it, looked like a playboy centrefold, half his age, _and_ only had eyes for him. She had him completely done for.

"You really make all this, Princess?" Jax questioned.

"Well the prospect wasn't going to." She gave Jax a knowing look.

"Lookin to get promoted to Queen?" He poked.

"All in good time VP." She winked, taking the empty plates back to the kitchen.

"You better put a fuckin ring on that man, before I do." Jax poked at Tig who was still basking in all the attention that his girl was getting, waiting to wake up from the dream, but he didn't. This was real.

After everyone was done eating and the kitchen was cleaned, Sydney headed back to Tig's room to properly get ready for the day. Her hair had dried in big, voluminous waves from her bun, she did some light makeup and changed into a baby blue v-neck tee, figuring that the cleavage baring top might help with what she was about to ask.

She passed through the bar, smiling as Jax gave her an approving nod, which she returned. She headed outside to where she spotted Tig sitting at a picnic table with Happy, Juice and Bobby, running her hand over his shoulder as he sat with his back to her.

"Oh hey baby." He cooed when he looked over his shoulder to see her smiling down at him, grabbing her hand.

"I know what we can do today, Tiggy." She announced as she pushed herself up to sit on the picnic table.

"What's that doll?" He sounded genuinely curious which gave her hope that he might actually say yes.

"You should teach me how to ride." She mused.

"Oh sweetheart, you ride just fine." He scoffed, making the guys laugh.

"Well, maybe... If you give me a few pointers… I'll show you what I've learned later." She said seductively, tilting her head as she ran a finger up his forearm, making everybody at the table wince and roll their eyes.

Tig stood up without second thought and led Sydney over to his bike which made everyone howl with laughter. She was sure to tip Happy a wink over her shoulder, one that he returned.

"How much you wanna bet she has his crow within the next six months?" Bobby proposed another bet, hoping it would favor him better than the one he had originally participated in.

"I give it three." Juice snorted.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Tig questioned once they reached the row of Harleys.

"Well you're the expert right? Who better to learn from." She flashed a cocky smile, making him sigh.

"I don't know doll... My bike ain't stock. Got a lotta-"

"Yeah, yeah you have mods I know, but that means it'll just be easier if I learn on something hard." He pursed his lips, knowing she had a point. "Besides, _your_ bike is my favorite. It looks the best, it's faster than all the other ones..." Sydney mused as she ghosted her fingertips over the skull on the brake handle, stroking it just like she was stroking his ego. He squinted hard, grimacing before he gave in.

"I hope you know that I don't let anybody ride my bike. _Ever_."

"I promise I'll make it worth your time, Sergeant."

He spent the next fifteen minutes explaining the components and functions of the bike. She listened intently, nodding in fascination as if it was the first time she was hearing all of this. In all honesty, she could've listened to him talk about it for days, his voice was like silk - getting lost in his words. It was like the world around him had blurred, his voice was echoing in her ears as she revelled in his presence: curls bouncing, eyes gleaming in the sun as he explained his passion. She snapped out of it when she noticed he had stopped talking and was staring at her.

"You get all that, Kitten?" She nodded eagerly as he raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her but not having time to do anything about it as she hopped on his machine and fired it up. He got her set up, rolling her eyes as he strapped the helmet over her head and relayed the gear shift to her.

"Wait!" Sydney heard him yell as she was about to begin her first start. She whipped her head around to look at him, trying not to show how annoyed she was. He grabbed a nearby helmet off of one of the bikes in the row and put it on, nodding for her to continue once he clipped it in place.

"Asshole." She rolled her eyes and shook her head while he grinned.

"That's it baby!" Tig cheered after she fucked around with the clutch a few times before finally letting herself do a halfway proper start. She couldn't help but blush, looking down as her nerves forced a smile. "Do that a few more times and you can start practicing above first." She went back and forth in first a few more times, stalling every once in a while before she was ready to move on to a higher gear.

"So neutral is between first and second?" She asked, crinkling her brows in confusion, receiving a nod. "I thought you said this would be like shifting in my car." She whined.

"It is babe, neutral's after first so you can't accidentally shift twice into second from a stop." He explained tenderly.

"Oh." She nodded slowly before giving it a try, jerking around a little more. "Neutral is hard." She pouted, pushing her lips out in hopes for some more tender encouragement.

"It's okay sweetheart, you're doin great." He lifted her chin up, smiling when her frown broke into a sweet smile

Clay arrived at the clubhouse while Sydney was doing small laps around the lot. He chuckled as he watched her shakily ride the big Harley in tight circles before she rode back over to him and Tig, stopping with a screech. The seasoned Harley riders both chuckled as she laughed nervously.

"What's this?" Clay mused with a wink.

"Princess wants to learn how to ride." Tig answered, gesturing to her with one hand as the other shielded his squinting eyes from the sun.

"If I'm gonna get my patch, I'm gonna have to learn." She said through a grin. Clay raised his eyebrows discerningly at her choice of explanation.

"Hey Tiggy, you mind checkin in on Jax? Gemma wanted to talk to him about Abel."

"Sure thing boss, everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, insurance shit." Tig nodded and headed towards the clubhouse in search of the VP. Clay began laughing as soon as he was out of earshot. "How long you planning on makin him chase you around the parking lot for?"

"Little longer." She replied smugly with a cocky smirk.

"You're something else, Princess." He laughed while she rolled Tig's bike back into formation next to Clay's before walking with him towards Bobby, Juice and Happy who were still at the picnic table. "So how'd ya manage that?" The President asked Sydney, referring to convincing Tig to spend his afternoon playing teacher.

"She just asked." Happy bellowed with pride.

"She told him she'd ride him later." Juice scoffed.

"You woulda done that anyway." Clay scowled.

"Exactly." She purred with a smirk that made everyone chuckle before she took her leave, heading back inside.

"Jax already talked to her." Tig reported back to Clay who nodded approvingly.

"Heard she didn't even have to bribe you for that." Clay joked as the pussy whipped jokes started coming.

"You gonna say no that?" He posed with wide eyes, humming as he gestured to Sydney walking away, hips swinging.

"You got a good point my friend." Clay chuckled low, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Heard we had some riding lessons goin on out there?" Jax teased as Sydney entered the clubhouse.

"Sure did. Better watch your back VP, I'm comin for that precious little flash on your chest." She winked.

* * *

**Dude Jason from her flashback? Modelled after my other ex boyfriend :/ **

_**Songs for this chapter: Enemy Fire - Bea Miller**_


	16. The Rise of The Queen

**Last chapter we got a glimpse of Sydney's past, now we get the full story. **

_**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**_

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 16: THE RISE OF THE QUEEN**

Sydney sat down at the table for church, having taken the liberty of bringing in a beer and a pack of smokes - knowing that planning a Mayan ambush wouldn't be a quick conversation.

"Alright, we gotta figure out the best way to do this. With the Mayans and Nords, we're gonna be outnumbered."

"If we pull this off, we only have to worry about the Mayans tailing us back, Nords don't care enough to fight a battle that ain't their own - especially for brown." Tig added.

Clay began explaining his plan for what would undoubtedly be an all out warfare: The Sons would ambush just after 9:00P.M., show up with guns drawn and load the AKs into the van, interrupting the hand off. This plan was risky - going in blind with bullets flying. It was smart, but Sydney didn't know if it would be smart enough to avoid a possible casualty.

"You need me on the inside." She stated, continuing before Clay could protest. "You have no idea where the guns will be, or when they'll get there. If I'm on the inside with a gun to Marcus' head we can secure a safe exit."

"And how do you plan on getting a gun in wearing one of your tight little whore dresses." Bobby mused.

Sydney smirked, pulling her shirt down to reveal a tiny Colt Pony stuffed in her cleavage. She silently thanked the puberty Gods for blessing her as the guys faces dropped and eyes widened while Tig laughed sadistically.

She winked to Tig. "Didn't see that comin did ya old man?" She teased Bobby. "And neither will they."

"Darby and some of his guys know what you look like, so does that Mayan we set free." Jax stated.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head VP, I got that covered." She cooed.

"Juice, in the van. As soon as you roll up you pull in front of the bikes, they're gonna start firing right away." Juice nodded. "Sack, you're in the van with Chibs, you two are in charge of transport." The Scot gave a curt nod while Sydney smiled at Half-Sack across the room as Clay assigned him his first major role on a job.

"I'll get Jess to drop me off just before 9:00, I'll text all updates to Juice." Clay nodded.

The meeting dragged on with the boring details of where the meeting points were, how to get there, etc. When church finally wrapped up, Sydney stopped into Tigs dorm to gather the stuff she intended on taking home before the ambush.

"This ain't gonna be like anything you've done before." A voice came from behind her, the worry in the tone had her - for a split second - wondering who was speaking. She looked over her shoulder with care, knowing it was Happy. She wasn't scared, but she knew that going undercover in what would end in a rain of bullets was something that for once, warranted the worry of her best friend.

"Don't think I can handle it?" She teased lightly.

"If anyone can, it's you, Mi Sol." He sauntered into the room. "But bullets... They don't care how good you are. Anyone can get hit."

Sydney smiled to herself. She knew how to get under Happy's skin, but he wasn't completely unaware of how to get under hers - the praise and pet names always did something different to her when they rolled off his tongue, knowing just how hard it was to earn from him, the roughness of his gravelly voice emphasizing the soft words and making them that much more infectious.

"Guess I'll just have to aim for a flesh wound." She smirked.

"Just don't wanna see anything happen to you. Old man would roll over in his grave and kick my ass." They both shared a chuckle before her smile faltered, feeling the anger bubble in her blood as her emotions began to take over. Her dad's death had thrown her for a loop, made her lose all control over herself, made her act like everything she was against. She hated that her throat stung and her eyes burned with tears every time he was mentioned.

"S'okay to cry. I miss him too."

Her eyes refocused and her head snapped up from the hung position it had fallen into. She grit her teeth, shaking her head.

"No." She snarled.

"Syd, if it was Ma who died I woul-"

"Enough. I'm fine." She clenched her jaw, her face hot with anger and unshed tears. Happy's chest rumbled with a chuckle as he pulled her against it.

"Too much like me, little girl."

Sydney chortled, feeling the tightness in her chest begin to subside. She took a deep breath, finding comfort in his familiar scent.

"You need to be careful too... I don't know what I'd do without you." She said softly. Happy stared ahead blankly, mindlessly stroking her hair to show his affection rather than responding verbally.

"C'mon." He pulled away. "Show these fuckers what I taught you." He spoke with a smirk that her lips curled up to mimic, following him out the door.

Sydney approached her house on the back of Tig's bike, he pulled into the driveway and unclipped her helmet for her before he took off his sunglasses to look her in the eyes.

"You be careful tonight, Kitten."

"Of course." She said sweetly while looking up at him, smiling when he threw an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a sweet kiss.

"You better take a long look at me Sergeant, cause later tonight you won't have any idea who I am." She mused.

"Don't get me excited like that pussycat." He said playfully against her ear.

"You better stay whole for me tonight, I still have to show you what I learned today." She said against his ear this time, smirking as she pulled away.

"Hey, since when I gotta be whole for that?" He teased, making them both snicker.

"You stayin at the clubhouse tonight?"

"Yeah, Clay's gonna need me close after this shit goes down, who knows what it's gonna stir up." Sydney nodded, agreeing with him. "You are too." Her brow creased in confusion. "I don't want you alone tonight." She playfully rolled her eyes when he explained. "I mean it baby." She chuckled before wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning into his mouth.

"Yes Sergeant." She kissed him, having absolutely no problem having an excuse to spend another night with him, she just liked giving him a hard time.

"That's my girl." He hummed in approval, grabbing a handful of her ass before she broke away from the kiss.

A few hours later, Sydney was almost ready with her makeup caked into oblivion, her wig glue in place, brown contacts settled against her green eyes, and temporary tattoos powdered to satisfaction. She slid into the skin tight satin dress which was red in colour when she saw Jessica's red Volkswagen pull up in front of her house - pulling on her cheap hooker heels and spraying the knock-off version of her favourite perfume before she headed out the door.

The brunette didn't notice Sydney walking out the door as she sat playing games on her phone while she waited, looking up when a mysterious woman opened the passenger door and slid in.

"Uh I think you have the wrong car-" Her brows were furrowed in confusion before she recognized her passenger. "Holy fuck… Sydney?" She exclaimed in shock with her jaw on the floor, making Sydney cackle.

"Not too shabby huh?"

"How the fuck did you do that? Oh my god… Where were you when I was using other people's IDs?" Sydney laughed again before they headed off to Pope.

Her and Jessica had a fun ride up to the farmhouse; laughing, talking, and singing along to the radio. Sydney saw the wild brunette as a genuine friend, not just a whore who was to obey her commands. The two drove slowly along the dirt road until they saw the old farmhouse which was a much smaller residence for the large gathering than Sydney had expected. She scanned the property, seeing a few old pickups and trucks until her eyes ghosted over them; like a bunch of diamonds - the gleaming Softails.

"Bingo." Sydney smirked. "Thanks Jess, see you later." She kissed her chauffeur on the cheek, texting Juice to let him know that she was heading in.

She strutted up the steps to the farmhouse, entering the rickety structure and being hit with a strong scent of marijuana and chemicals. She glanced around, seeing mostly Nords and whores before she spotted the woman who had given her the address, standing with Darby and the man she had seen with him at the diner - assuming he had to be his new second hand since they killed Whistler. She made her way over, standing just close enough that she could catch the end of their conversation, knowing that they would surely be discussing what was about to go down. She served herself a drink while she listened to Darby relay the details of the drop which would be taking place shortly, around the side of the house. Once satisfied with the information, she grabbed her drink and headed off to the bathroom, locating the side door on her way, texting Juice with the instructions once she was safely concealed behind the locked door.

Juice and the rest of the Sons were waiting on an access road off the highway a few miles away, awaiting her final signal to set the plan fully in motion when Clay noticed Tig squirming on his bike, it wasnt his usual 'lets fuck shit up' kind of squirming before a job - this was anxious, nervous.

"She's gonna be fine, brother." The President assured him.

"Oh yeah I know." He tried to play it off with a casual nod.

"Now." Juice called out, snapping his phone shut. Tig was grateful for the distraction from his worry, the nerves fueling his actions as he sped off down the road, everyone behind him with their guns in hand.

Sydney had her escape perfectly planned. She snuck out the side door just before Alvarez arrived, rounding the back of the farmhouse and standing with her back against the scratchy worn wood. Finally, she heard the side door creak open, peering around the corner slightly to see Darby, his bitch boy, and two other men exiting as Alvarez pulled up on his bike with an old black Impala in tow.

The Mayan President dismounted his bike and shook Darby's hand while his men popped the trunk. The two walked over to check out the guns, Darby nodding a few seconds later, motioning to one of his guys who handed Alvarez an envelope. At the last possible second, Sydney heard it - the rumbling of the Harleys. _Showtime_.

Shots began ringing out when the Mayans realized what was happening, bullets hitting the side of the black van after Juice came to a screeching halt in front of the Sons. Sydney smiled sadistically as the Niners emerged from the property line behind the trees, successfully giving Half-Sack and Chibs a clear path to unload the crate of AKs as everyone scrambled to find cover. Sydney was in pure shock as she watched Half-Sack - walking straight into open fire with his gun drawn, taking down one of Darby's guys fearlessly.

Alvarez and another Mayan ran back in her direction - clearly trying to keep the President whole. They rounded the side of the house, which landed them face to face with the barrel of her gun.

"Ay ese." She greeted the President with a smile. "Mind telling your mano here to pass me his gun?" She nodded to the trembling man who stood behind him.

"And who the hell are you?" Alvarez said with a snicker.

"Oh sweetie, you gonna make me say the magic words?" She cocked her gun and pressed it harder against his forehead.

"Give it to her Esai." Alvarez laughed again, nodded towards Sydney. The other man handed over his gun which she took into her unoccupied hand.

"Gracias amigo." She thanked seductively and winked at the younger man.

"On the ground, hands behind your head. You behave and I'll let your pretty face go without a scratch." She ordered as she stroked the tip of his gun over his face - Esai Alvarez was a beautiful man, it would be a shame to have to carve him up - plus Sydney knew that harming the President's son would likely cause more problems than it was worth. Esai slowly began to sink to his knees before her, stopping when she snickered and brushed her bare knee against his cheek. "No sweetheart. Over there." She nodded across the yard, giggling sadistically as she stood shakily and backed away. "Great bodyguard you got yourself, Pres.

"I like this one, Mijo." Marcus laughed to his son

"Call your men off. Now." She ordered, nudging him with her gun to begin walking backwards. He surrendered, slowly turning against the barrel so that it was now positioned at the back of his head. When they revealed themselves in the open, the Mayan gunfire immediately stopped as they saw the predicament that she had their President in.

"Guns on the ground." He ordered, the Mayans all dropping their weapons. The Sons emerged from behind the van when they heard the gunfire cease, Chibs and Half-Sack taking the opportunity to hurriedly get the guns safely into the van.

"I think you have something for me, Papi." Sydney cooed into his ear, feeling him tense when he realized that this was all perfectly set up by the Sons. He exhaled and placed the envelope between her fingers, glancing at the gun in her hand as he did. "Try it, see what happens." She coaxed with a smirk, knowing what he was thinking and chuckling when he relented. "We'll consider this a finders fee." She taunted.

"Always a pleasure Ernie." Sydney winked to Darby as he and his men stood stiffly on the sidelines, unwilling to shed more blood over a Mexican beef.

"You gotta be shittin me..." Darby groaned when he realized who the leggy brunette was.

"Nice car." She cooed before she shot out a tire, the rest of the guys following suit as they shot out the tires on the Mayans bikes around them.

"Pleasure doin business." Clay called out with a wave.

The Niners kept all of the Mayans and Nords at gunpoint, allowing Sydney to safely walk Alvarez over to the van as her crew got ready to make their escape. She nodded to Jax who took the signal and hightailed it out of there with the rest of the Sons in tow. She kept her gun on Alvarez as she led him around to the sliding door of the van, making him sit as Chibs grabbed her hand to help her up before Juice backed the van into a circle and took off down the road.

"Since when are the Sons recruiting putas?" Alvarez asked with a smug smile.

"Since the Nords started recruiting wetbacks." Sydney retorted, leaning into his face. "Thanks for the cooperation Marcus, now don't do anything stupid." She said sweetly and kissed him on the cheek before pushing him out of the moving vehicle with her foot. Juice floored it as Chibs slid the door shut once their hostage was unloaded, screaming in victory as they headed to the meeting point.

"Kip!" Sydney jumped into Half-Sack's arms and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "What the fuck was that? You were amazing!" She screamed, finally able to express her excitement for the shy man.

"Ah it was nothin." He blushed bashfully.

"That was some rambo shit, that was not nothing! Where the fuck did it come from?"

"Dunno, I was in the army so I guess it just comes naturally."

"Ah…" She squinted. "Now I see why they let you prospect." She nodded smugly in realization.

"Aye! I told ye I wasn't crazy to sponsor him! I think yer two are gonna be up for MVP tonight!" Chibs yelled. Half-Sack's nerves jolted when he felt Sydney's hand grab his and he looked up to see her beaming smile of pride, he couldn't believe that _he _had managed to take _her _by surprise.

"Doesn't look like they're followin." Juice hollered from the front.

"Good. Maybe they aren't as stupid as they look." Sydney laughed.

Ten minutes later the van pulled up to the arranged meeting spot to hand the AKs off to the Niners.

"Hi boys." Sydney called seductively when the door slid open, sitting on the gun crate with her legs crossed and a grin on her face.

The gang leader's eyes almost popped out of his head when he was greeted with such an unexpected scene, holding out his hand to help her down. She winked at him as soon as her feet hit the ground, strutting to her crew to exchange victory cheers.

While Clay and Jax handled business, Sydney eyed Tig who was still on his bike a few years away, keeping watch down the road. She blushed and looked down to the ground bashfully when he looked over and winked at her, her juvenile reaction being interrupted by a shrill whistle from him, catching the attention of the prospect and motioning him over.

Sydney propped up an elbow against the side of the van as she watched Tig order the eager kid to take his place as lookout. "Hey Sergeant." She called out to him as he walked over, swaying side to side slowly and twirling her hair.

"Who is _that._" Laroy hummed, licking his lips as he raked over Sydney's figure from behind.

"Hey there, darlin." Tig greeted, giving her a once over with a look on his face of pure lust. He looked over his shoulder and moved his hands to her waist. "You know, we should probably get outta here before my old lady sees us…"

He crashed his lips into hers and shoved her against the van before either of them had time to laugh at his joke, tightening his grip against her as she moaned into his mouth. His tongue dominated her mouth almost immediately, her hands moved up to his neck, pulling him in further as he pushed against her without a care in the world for the crowd - the post-heist adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Sydney felt her heart beating triple it's normal speed when he referred to her as his old lady. There was something so odd about her relationship with Tig - she had the excitement of still getting to know him, but the connection like she'd known him her whole life.

"Wait wait wait.." Laroy winced at the atrocious sight before him. "You aint bouta tell me that _she_… Is with _him_?"

"We don't get it either, man." Jax chuckled.

They were close enough to be able to hear Laroy's comment but Sydney was too wrapped up in her man to care. Her man however, felt anger bubbling within him. He turned, keeping her close so he could look at Laroy as Sydney moved down to suck and kiss his neck - grinning in satisfaction when the younger man quickly looked away.

"Good Kitten." He purred in her ear as he grasped her hair.

"Think we have time?" She whispered with an evil smile that he quickly returned as she glanced to the van.

"We better wrap this up before they start fuckin right here." Clay announced, shaking Laroy's hand. Sydney and Tig finally pulled away from each other when she climbed into the van and he retreated back to his bike for the ride home.

Juice pulled the van into the TM lot where Chibs and Half-Sack began unloading the guns. Before Sydney could even step out of the van, Tig was there waiting for her, he wrapped his arms around her legs and slung her over his shoulder, carrying her into the clubhouse while she freely laughed this time around as the whistles began.

"Church!" Clay called as Tig passed him.

"Later." He replied simply, a low growl in his voice.

Everybody sat around the table in silence, listening to the muffled screams that were audible even from across the clubhouse, behind multiple closed doors.

"Is anyone else getting hard?" Juice asked, causing an uproar of laughter.

"How long d'you give it?" Chibs asked with a grin.

"Thirty seconds." Jax scoffed, everyone erupted with laughter again.

Sydney stayed on her arms and knees for a few seconds after Tig pulled out and walked to the bathroom, collecting herself before standing up and straightening her dress.

Tig emerged from the bathroom to see her straightening herself out, briskly walking towards her with a huge grin, taking her face in his hands and kissing her as soon as she turned to face him, leaving her breathless. Her body gave into his as she leaned back, pressing herself completely against him, craving the intimacy that the first round had lacked.

"I'll take care of my princess later." He promised tenderly with his lips against her neck, exciting her all over again. She smiled and nodded before he grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway to the chapel.

Sydney smiled bashfully and rolled her eyes when they entered the chapel to a round of hassling before taking her seat.

"Now _that_, is how we get shit done." Clay stated, bringing on cheers. "Laroy's happy, business resumes as usual, gonna set up that new warehouse with Elliot."

"What kinda discount did Laroy get out of us?" Sydney grimaced in anticipation for the blow.

"Only thirty, wanted fifty but a certain brunette changed his mind." Jax grinned at her. Sydney smiled genuinely in response to the first real bit of praise that the VP had shown her.

"You saved our asses Princess. We owe this shit to you." Clay nodded as he tossed an envelope across the table - the envelope that Laroy had given Clay in payment for the crate of AKs. "Laroy was pure profit, you got our money from Alvarez, you deserve that."

"Wow... A week with you guys and I've managed my whole salary back in San Bern." She mused as she thumbed through the $20k. Clay smiled softly, his eyes falling downwards before he was startled by a breeze, looking up to see that she had tossed the envelope back to him. He scowled deeply while Tig looked at her questioningly, the other men knitting their brows when she passed up the hefty payday.

"Club is a team, not a dictatorship." She shook her head. "Split it the same way you did the thirty five we got from Alvarez. Like you said, business as usual. You wanna cut me in a little extra, I won't complain." She shrugged with a smirk. "But I want a share given to the prospect." Half-Sack's head shot up at the unexpected request.

"You know what you're doin here, Princess?" Clay looked for further confirmation, shocked that she was passing up the money and even more shocked by her loyalty to the club.

"Yes sir." She stated confidently with a nod.

Clay clearly didn't understand, but he nodded haphazardly, respecting her wishes and handing Bobby the envelope to divy up.

"We head out tomorrow at noon."

"Police scanner software is downloading now." Juice reported to his President before he concluded the meeting.

Everyone headed home after church except for Juice who sat at the bar finishing up his installation, and Jax who headed to the dorm that he had temporarily claimed as his, still uncomfortable sleeping at his own house after what had happened there with Wendy and the baby.

"So... Doesn't look like anyone's too worried about retaliation tonight." Sydney mused as she closed the door to Tig's dorm, giving him a playfully discerning look. He smiled softly and shook his head.

"You never know, doll." He shook his head while squinting to attempt to appear concerned as he sat on the edge of his bed untying his boots.

"You sure you just didn't want me to stay with you again?" She teased, walking towards him and placing her hands on his shoulders, smirking down at him. He said nothing, just grinned up at her while his hands trailed up the back of her thighs. She laughed before pulling away, retreating to the bathroom to begin the process of transforming back into herself.

She was about to start the shower when she realized something she hadn't realized before - his shower was actually a bathtub. She bubbled with excitement, she _loved_ baths and her new house didn't have one. She leaned out the doorway to see Tig lounging back on the bed with his arms behind his head and his feet up, watching TV. Seeing him like this made her smile, he looked so casual and at peace, she rarely got to see him distracted by something other than herself. The smile on her face reignited the yearning she felt for his touch - still feeling deprived from earlier, deciding she would use this opportunity to try and get the intimacy that she desired.

Once her wig was off and her contacts were out, she was looking like herself again. "Babe!" She called from the bathroom, leaning against the sink as she wiped the fake tattoo off of her arm. It didn't take long until she was face to face with him in the mirror, unable to help but smile, turning around to face him where he quickly cupped her face with one hand and cradled the back of her head with the other.

"There's my sweet girl." He grinned, running his fingers through the pale hair he was used to and pulling her face to meet his lips. She smiled against his mouth, scooting to sit on the sink without breaking the kiss. She placed her hands on his sides and clutched his hips between her knees as she continued moving her lips with his, her tongue quickly finding it's way into his mouth as she moaned, turning the sweet kiss into a sensual makeout session. He pulled away, still holding her close. "What'd you want, Kitten?"

"Can I have a bath?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"Of course, baby." He chuckled. "But if you need bubblebath, I'm afraid you're out of luck."

"Well…" She smirked, walking her fingers up his chest. "I need my old man." She draped her other arm over his shoulder as her hand trailed back down his chest and up under his shirt. "Your Kitten's had a long day without her Tiger." She mock-pouted as she spoke at his lips, feeling him hardening against her thigh. He bit his lip, breaking the eye contact and trying to contain himself. He had his own plan for how their night was going to go, and he wanted it to be more than just another bout of exhibitionism.

"Later." He looked back down at her, dropping his hands from her head, to her waist. "Got some shit I need to do." He bit his lip again, growing impatient as she jutted out those pouty lips, tightening his grip on her waist and moving a hand to clamp the back of her neck, pressing his forehead against hers. "No attitude. Have your bath, relax. I'll fuck you when you're done." His words and movements were dominant but his tone was sweet. She felt a heat radiate through her entire body as she listened to his commands, biting her lip and nodding slowly with a feverish look on her face. He gave her a curt nod of approval for her submission, starting out the bathroom door.

"One more thing."

"Mmm?" He hummed inquisitively as he turned back, hanging onto the door frame in anticipation for her request.

She smiled devilishly and turned around, moving her hair over her shoulder and peering over at him, signalling for him to unzip her dress. His breath caught in his throat before he briskly walked over and began to tug the zipper down as fast as possible.

"Careful." She whirled around and smacked his hand. "You'll break it and have to buy me a new one." She teased with a smirk, turning back around while he bit his lip and kept his stoic expression. He started again, carefully pulling the zipper down the length of her spine. She pressed herself back against him, eyes closed as she hummed quietly, tilting her head back against his chest. His body betrayed him as his hands went on autopilot, smoothing up her sides and his lips going to the crook of her neck.

She shivered. _God he was so intoxicating. _Every single thing about him set her body on fire: his scent, his warmth, his breath. She reached up behind her to grasp the back of his neck as she whimpered at the feeling of his lips on her skin.

"My needy little girl." He chuckled against her neck.

"It's not my fault you showed me what I was missing all this time." She responded innocently. He spun her around and roughly reclaimed her lips, pulling away to lift her by the waist, placing her back on the counter. She smiled evilly, satisfied that she had gotten her way as she pulled him back to her, his grip on her waist tightening and one of his hands moving down to her ass where he pulled her body flush against his when all of a sudden, his lips abruptly left hers.

"Bath. Now." He commanded, the sternness of his voice reminding her that she was not to give him attitude. She nodded, huffing in defeat once he slipped out the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

She started the bath, running the water as hot as it could go before she sunk into it, sighing as the instant wave of comfort flowed over her body. She took her timing bathing and once she was completely relaxed and feeling refreshed she pulled the plug, towelled off and slipped into a pair of black boyshorts and one of Tig's t-shirts, leaving her wet hair down. She exited the bathroom, steam billowing out the door behind her to find his room empty, she looked around confused - his kutte was on the armchair, his boots were by the bed where he took them off, and the TV was still on. She knew he was up to something when he was denying her earlier so she willed herself to ignore her detective alter ego and crawled into bed to wait for him, growing increasingly more and more impatient when time passed and he didn't return.

Eventually she couldn't take it anymore, patience had never been a strong suit of hers… She sighed dramatically and threw the blankets off of her before stalking out into the clubhouse in search of him: he wasn't in the kitchen, wasn't at the bar and his bike was still in the lot. She stood in the doorway with a crease in her forehead, wondering where the hell else he could be when suddenly her thoughts were interrupted.

"Roof."

"Jesus." She gasped, looking up to see Juice sitting on the couch with his laptop. "I didn't know you were still here."

"I'm almost done." He chuckled. "He went up to the roof." She scowled. "I don't know." He put his hands up and shook his head before she could question him. "He told me to tell you when you came out." Sydney was _really_ confused now but she headed down the hall to the indoor ladder anyways where she began her ascent to the rooftop. When she made it through the hatch she was immediately captivated by the night sky, clearer than she had ever seen it, every single star was visible. She twirled around with a huge smile to the scene above her, not used to seeing stars so easily like this - not snuffed out by the big city lights like they were back home. She twirled around and smiled huge at the scene above her. Tig walked around the chimney, smiling as he watched her.

She stopped her spinning when her eyes fell on Tig who had walked around the side of the chimney and was watching her with a grin on his face.

"C'mere babe." He motioned for her to follow him.

"What's going on?" She asked with excitement evident in her voice.

"Just come here." He shook his head, holding out his hand before she ran over and took it, allowing him to lead her around the chimney, to the higher part of the roof.

"You aint gonna propose to me are you?" She joked.

"Nah, figured I'd save that for next week." They both chuckled as she climbed the short ladder after him, grabbing his extended hand as he lifted her up the last two rungs. Once she was able to see over the ledge, she saw multiple sleeping bags laid out, pillows and blankets atop them in a makeshift bed under the night sky. She grinned up at him with her eyes sparkling just as the stars did above them, He smiled back and led her over where he sat them both down on the surprisingly comfortable surface, laying back to look at the stars.

On the ride back from the job, Tig had found himself drawn to the clear night sky - a habit he'd undoubtedly picked up from her. He thought about how upset she would be having to ride in the back of the van if she knew how beautiful the stars were and when she said she wanted to have a bath, he realized it was an opportunity to surprise her, remembering how she'd admired the sunset on the roof that day.

"And to think people say you don't do romance..."

"A month ago they were right." He chuckled.

"All those other girls are missin out." She teased with a toothy smile, looking over at him. He smiled softly and returned his gaze up to the abyss above, lighting the blunt that he'd rolled for them to share, taking a puff and passing it to her.

Sydney inhaled the marijuana, feeling the relaxation instantly course through her veins, a peaceful stillness rushing through her already soother muscles. She let the smoke lazily escape her lips as she stared at the perfectly clear night sky.

"You actually know any constellations?" Tig asked, taking the blunt back from between her fingers.

"Only a few." She chuckled. "The stars don't look like this back home."

"You probably can't see Orion from home, huh?" He laced his fingers in hers, bringing her hand up in his as he pointed to the cluster of stars that resembled something of an hourglass.

"That's the belt one right? Those three right there?" She moved their hands around as she traced the three stars.

"Yeah, the three are his belt." He smiled. "But the other four are his shoulders and legs, then the little ones in-between connect his body." Sydney smiled dreamily as he guided her finger around, drawing the constellation in the sky.

"I've never seen all of it before." She grinned while captivated. "What about the bears?"

"Ursa Minor and Major?" He smiled at the wholesomeness of her excitement. He moved her hand up, pointing to the spoon-like shapes.

"Wait what, that's the Big Dipper." She shook her head in confusion.

"They're the same thing darlin." He chuckled. "You probably never seen the whole thing at home, but look, all these little ones make it more than that." Her eyes widened as the image of the bear came into view.

"Wow... To think I've been gawkin over the city slicker version of all this." They both chuckled. "Do you believe in aliens?" She asked casually as a result of the weed.

Tig barked out a laugh. "I've Seen Bobby get laid, that's enough to make a man believe just about anything." Sydney cackled. "You like this stuff huh?" He asked as he snubbed out the roach left from the blunt. She looked at him and nodded, smiling sincerely, but he could tell by the inquisitive look in his eye that her answer was not meeting his standards.

"I've always liked nature shit. My dad got me a big telescope for Christmas one year so we could look at the stars together."

"He give you this?" His hand folded over hers, the one that had instinctively clamped onto her necklace when she spoke of her father.

She was a little taken aback by his observation. She nodded as he examined the gold heart pendant that she religiously wore around her neck, leaning in to press a delicate kiss to her lips while clutching her hands in his before rolled onto his back and pulled her onto his chest.

Hours passed as they talked, laughed, and shared stories from the past. They spent their time opening up to each other, breaking down the walls, peeling back the layers. He told her stories of Dawn and Fawn from when they were young, how he wished he could've been a better father for them before Colleen had kicked him out of their lives and corrupted their view of him. She learned that his father was abusive and had killed his mother when he was young - though she wasn't much better. He finally got away when he was eighteen, all on his own with no siblings or relatives, which had sent him straight to the marines.

"It makes sense…" She nodded with a soft smile from her position on her stomach, propped up on her elbows while he laid on his back. "Why you are, the way you are."

"You mean fucked up?" He scoffed.

"We're all a little fucked up, Tiggy." She laughed.

"What about you?" He nodded. "How did you get to be so fucked up?"

"Hey! I prefer the term 'unique'." They laughed before he brought the seriousness back to the conversation, staring at her with depth and passion as those gorgeous blue eyes shone just for her.

"How did you become this?" He asked almost dreamily.

"You _really _wanna know? From the beginning?" She asked sincerely. She would tell him if he wanted to know, she wasn't a cold, stone wall kind of person, but she rarely met people that she cared enough about - or that cared enough about her, to talk to about her past

"I wanna know, baby." He nodded with just as much sincerity in his eyes, kissing her forehead. She settled back into his chest, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply as she recounted her life story.

"My dad was VP until I was six. On the weekend of my fifth birthday, my mom walked out. Took my dog, whatever money was around the house, and disappeared, just didn't show up at home that night. After a couple days the club found her in a meth house with some dude, she said she was done with us. She disappeared for months, eventually we found out through my grandpa that he was notified by the hospital when she came in battered by the guy. She was using. She came back in the fall out of nowhere, said she was better and wanted to fix things. My dad was still heartbroken so he let her back in." Sydney added the last part bitterly - understanding her father's choice but it was clear that she would have done differently.

"She stayed for a few days before stealing anything she could get her hands on and taking off again. The club helped as much as they could, but SAMDINO isn't outlaw, they don't earn like you guys do. We were eating from a food bank while she was spending my college money on crank. Racked up my dad's credit cards, we almost lost our house. One day the spending stopped and we stopped hearing from anyone who had contact with her, we assumed she was dead, beaten to death or an overdose." Tig had expected that was the end of the story.

"Then a few months later, in the spring of first grade, there she was. Picking me up early from school. It's one of the only memories I have of her." Tig's grip on her was warm and comforting, rubbing her arm lightly while she continued. She appreciated that when they had moments like this, he let her speak. He didn't try to interject with his opinions or condolences.

"We went home, and _he_ was there." Her tone changed from bitter nostalgia to pure hate. "I wasn't a sheltered kid, I knew exactly who he was and what he did. I don't remember them threatening me, but I remember being scared and being told I couldn't tell my dad that he was ever in the house. Eventually my dad came home looking for me when I wasn't at school and my mom kicked him out, said she was taking the house. I remember screaming and crying that I wanted my dad, while she told him behind the door that she would let him see me if he didn't call the cops. They both knew that I would end up in the system if cops got involved. She told him her junkie boyfriend was gone and she was clean, he didn't have much choice but to believe her and hope that I would tell him if anything happened. He made sure some of the guys kept an eye on me and the house for the first little bit until I told him that things were okay and he let up."

"He did everything he could to make sure I was happy when I was with him." She smiled softly as she recounted the few happier memories from that time. "It went on for a few months before the guy started coming around once the heat was off. He never hurt me, but he made sure that I watched him hurt my mom. He beat my dog to death in front of me, told me 'that's what disobedient bitches got'. I was so scared to tell my dad he was back. I felt like what was happening was my fault… That feeling is something that a child _that_ young shouldn't even be able to comprehend."

"I didn't know she was still using…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "One night I went into the bathroom to look for her when she didn't put me to bed, she was in the bathtub, I didn't even have to touch her to know." Tig swore he could feel Sydney's blood go cold as she shook her head. "I don't remember feeling anything, what I do remember was the sick fucking smile that the bastard gave me when he found me standing over her body. He got his shit and got out, I called my dad, he called the cops."

"I'm so sorry, Angel." Tig said softly as he held her close.

"I don't miss her." She said a little too abruptly, sitting up from his chest, softening immediately when she caught herself, keeping her anger in check as she rolled onto her elbows. "I've taken all of the good out of it. I'm grateful. If she lived, she would've fucked my life up much worse. She chose to put me in danger. I probably would've been tortured by him the way she was, I don't even want to think about the kind of shit that would've happened as I got older. It's weird, I don't remember ever crying or feeling sad that she was gone, she left me with some pussy ass abandonment issues but that's about it." She chuckled, looking into Tig's eyes and feeling the uncomfortable wave of vulnerability again. She took a deep breath, understanding that this was part of a relationship: trusting that the other person will love you no matter what.

"After it happened, I spent a few days at my grandpa's house while they sweeped my house for drugs and evidence. Apparently I wouldn't come out of the closet, crying and saying I was scared but I don't remember it at all. I don't really have any memories of her because I guess there's nothing to miss. My dad came back home, gave up the VP patch to raise me. Through school sometimes I would miss what could've been, but none of it was realistic, I was missing ideas, and scenarios, not her."

"My grandpa helped a bit when my mom left and then when she passed, but he always blamed my dad so my mom's family kind of disowned me, my dad left home when he was fifteen so I've got jack shit for family. So the club became my family. My dad knew that there was no way he could keep me away from the life, he couldn't raise me without the help of the club and he knew that with the club came danger, so he decided to teach me how to handle it, raise me into it."

"Nobody in SAMDINO ever took me seriously, no matter how much of their dirty work I did or how well I did it. They'd never let me patch. They were great to me." She assured. "But the brotherhood isn't strong there, they aren't doing anything like the shit that you guys do here. They get more time with their families and have totally separate lives from the club - something I never had, which is why I think SAMCRO feels so normal to me." She paused again, smiling softly. "Happy spent a lot of time in San Bern. for his mom. He saw something in me I guess, helped train me, taught me how to fight, how to kill." Tig's eyes widened as the pieces all started to fit together. "I always knew I had something different in me. A rage. The club never tried to push it out of me but they didn't understand it the way that Happy did."

"That's why you love him." Tig nodded, finally able to fully understand the odd bond between his girlfriend and brother.

Sydney nodded appreciatively. "He helped me track down my moms ex. I never blamed him for what my mom did, that shit was on her, they were her choices. But the anger I felt towards him never went away. I need to get it out. Happy saw it as an opportunity for practice, showing me how to bind and torture, get passed the mental block of it all. He let me do it all by myself, didn't try and stop me or get scared that I was going too far. He let me kill him. That piece of shit got to see my sick, twisted fucking smile before he died, the same way that I had to see his."

"How old were you?"

"Seventeen."

"I killed my old man just before I turned eighteen." Sydney's eyes widened, she wasn't necessarily surprised, but she was surprised at his easy admittance.

"Good. He deserved it."

"Yeah he did." Tig held back the bite in his bitter tone. "So that's where this is from huh." He nudged her foot - referring to the happy face tattoo, effectively reverting the attention back to her.

She nodded with a snicker. "I think letting me start early taught me how to control it, harvest it when I need to, be rational."

"I think I'm still learnin that…" Tig chuckled.

"I don't hate that part of me." She chose her words carefully, knowing that it was what he meant, hoping to show him that she knew how he felt. "For a while, I did. I was disgusted by what I was capable of, but I stopped fighting it. It's who I am and now, I love it." Tig grasped her face and nodded reassuringly.

"Why don't any of us know about you, darlin? Half the charters in the states have heard about what you've done here by now... I mean we've all heard a few things about the Cali Queen but we always just assumed it was a cartel play, never knew you were associated with an M.C." She smiled half heartedly.

"My dad always knew I wanted to patch. He knew the only way I would be able to, was if I became some kind of weapon - made the DINO guys keep me under wraps while I earned a reputation under a different name. He knew club recommendation would be enough to get my foot in the door, but not enough to keep it open. If people knew my reputation then I would have club recommendation _and_ backup, might actually stand a chance. It just kind of happened that I was lucky enough not to need the backup to get my foot in the door here."

"You do shit a lot of shit for the club back home?"

"I got to do shit when they needed it, or for training." She snorted, remembering the bitch work that they let her help with. "Their own personal mercenary." She mused. "But I wasn't privy like I am here. I was more of an... advanced Gemma." They both chuckled. "I was allowed to know more than most associates of the club, but I also was kept in the dark about a lot. They never saw me as an equal, but I guess that's what happens when one day the little girl they knew is now a twenty-two year woman trying to sit at their table." She pursed her lips. "Happy didn't look at me like they did and Les always knew that I was much more than they needed."

"Cares about ya a lot. I've known Hap a _long_ time, never really seen him close to anyone outside the club and his family."

"He's protective but he knows I can handle myself, as much as he hates to admit it, he always knew I'd end up with a son." She shot him a sly look.

"You're incredible, baby." He smiled dreamily.

"Yeah, it's not all it cracks up to be." She chuckled softly. "Nightmares have been a bitch for as long as I can remember." Tig knew the feeling all too well: the feeling of guilt and embarrassment. He pulled her into his chest, hugging her close while his chest ached pleasantly with appreciation for the fact that _he_ was who she chose to share her life with, that she trusted him with her darkest memories.

"I get them too doll." He whispered while he stroked her wavy hair. He had known that she was a hurricane from the second he met her - powerful, dangerous, complex, but tonight he realized that she was so much more - she had so much depth, the kind of depth that would have him forever captivated.

Sydney shivered with a wave of emotion as she laid there in his arms, completely and utterly vulnerable. The way he held and listened to her was so natural, she knew he would've laid for hours and hours in any uncomfortable position just to listen to what she had to say. Before she knew it, her teeth were chattering and she was violently shaking while a lump set up shop in her throat. Without a second thought, Tig sat up and pulled the blanket over top of her, rubbing her arms to help warm her up.

Her eyes sparkled up at him, deep with emotion as her body gave into his touch, realizing in that moment that she was completely screwed. She'd fallen for him, _hard_. She loved him with everything she had, the kind of love that made her chest ache, her stomach flip, and her mind race, finally understanding why love made people do such crazy things. The stinging in her throat gave way, pushing streams of hot tears out of her eyes.

"Oh baby." Tig said quietly, his hands running over her face as concern washed over his when she saw that she was fully crying now.

"It's not that." She whispered. "I love you." She looked deep into his eyes as tears continued to spill from hers. "Tig, I _really_ fucking love you." He wiped the tears from her eyes as pools formed within his own, he never thought that he would experience someone getting emotional over their feelings for him, again.

"Ah fuck." He tilted his head towards the sky while they both chuckled. She pulled the blanket on top of him, snuggling against the warmth of his body with her arm pressed against his chest and her hand lightly caressing his neck while his arm was wrapped around her waist and his hand was rubbing her back.

"I love you so much." He murmured against her scalp as he pressed a kiss against it.

At some point they had both fallen asleep before Tig was coaxed awake in the early hours by the sound of morning traffic on the road ahead. He smiled burying his face in her neck, his moustache tickling her, causing her to wake with a giggle.

"Let's get to bed, babe." He whispered, lightly kissing her neck before he sat upright and headed back into the clubhouse, leaving the blankets for Half-Sack to tidy. Tig let her lead him, grasping her outstretched hand lightly and smiling at her constant need for his touch.

Once they got to his dorm, he closed the door and turned off the light, sauntering over to where she stood by the bed. He brought her lips to his, her small hands covering his that laid on the edges of her face. He pulled away to strip down to his boxers before lifting her shirt - well, his shirt - over her head. He took a step back to admire her body, somehow even more perfect in his groggy state.

"Baby." He said dreamily as his eyes roamed every inch before he reached back out for her, lifting her into his arms and reattaching his lips to hers sweetly as he laid down with her on top of him and covered them up with the blanket.

"Hmm?" He questioned lazily when he heard her chuckling against his chest.

"I guess we don't gotta worry about the whole in-law thing, huh?" He laughed, hugging her tight before drifting back off to sleep.

* * *

**Editing this made me realize that the way she told Tig her life story was 110% inspired by the way Rosalie told Bella about her past with her attack/Carlisle finding her in Twilight L O L.**


	17. Ninja

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 17: NINJA**

As most of Sydney's mornings had started since she began dating the SAMCRO enforcer, she woke up before him, snuggled tightly in his arms - a routine she'd fallen in love with almost as much as she'd fallen in love with him. She soaked up the extra time she got to admire her man, noting how peaceful he looked when he slept - the lines of his face softened without the weight of duties or demons on his unconscious mind.

Tig felt her appreciative gaze, bringing him out of his slumber. "Mornin." He smiled without opening his eyes.

"Why d'you always gotta wake up when I'm tryin to eye you up?" She asked through a shameless toothy grin.

"Can feel you." He answered thoughtfully, rolling over and burying his face in her neck, still not opening his eyes. Sydney felt her face getting hot when she heard the sincerity of his reply. "Can feel you blushing too." She heard the grin in his voice, giggling before pressing her cold feet against his thighs, laughing hysterically as his eyes snapped open and he flew back to his side of the bed.

"You ready for today?" Tig asked as they lazily watched the morning cartoons on TV.

"Sure am. Gotta go home and get my shit in order. You know, water the plants and all, seeing as I've been imprisoned here." She teased.

"Oh Princess." He scoffed. "You love being my prisoner." He gave her a discerning look, to which she replied with a smug smile.

Sydney emerged from Tig's room by 11:00 A.M., for church after getting ready for the day. The guys all sat around the bar as they waited on her, exchanging knowing glances over that fact that she had seemingly taken up permanent residence in Tig's room, she just rolled her eyes and strolled into the empty chapel.

"Well come on, we don't have all day." She called innocently over her shoulder.

"We ride out at noon. Juice, two miles ahead, pull over as soon as you know we're heading into a trap." Sydney mentally checked out as Clay gave orders, fantasizing about how in just over an hour, she would be on the open road again and she couldn't wait.

"You okay, baby?" Sydney flinched as Tig's hand landed on her shoulder, managing to check herself before accidentally elbowing her lover in that pretty jaw of his, her fight or flight reaction only deepening his concern.

"Just excited." He nodded cautiously, figuring something was up that she wasn't letting off, biting his tongue and following the rest of his brothers out to leave her alone with Clay.

"I'll meet you guys for the drive back. Don't wanna tip em off early." She informed her President who just shook his head and chuckled with a nod.

Sydney walked out to the lot where the guys were all shooting the shit as they sat on their bikes, watching Half-Sack paint the van. She couldn't help but to laugh at the minuscule effort that they were putting in to make this look like a _real_ charity ride as she stared at the white paint on the van's tinted windows: "LODI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. S.O.A. RIDE FOR KIDS."

"Wow, gonna have churches all across the state ready to sign us up with that kind of spirit." She said sarcastically to the artist himself - making him and Juice laugh before she waltzed over to the guys, opening her mouth to speak but the words were stopped by a god-awful screeching, sputtering sound. She scowled deeply, showing her annoyance as she whirled around dramatically to see Bobby pulling his Fat Boy out of the garage.

"Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang." Chibs shook his head disapprovingly.

"Hey it's an old fat boy on an old Fat Boy." Sydney couldn't help her grin when Half-Sack razzed the older member, loving the confidence that she could see him gaining day by day. "… Sorry." He quickly uttered as soon as he was met with Bobby's glare. _Well, it was nice while it lasted. _

"Thought you put that beast to sleep?" Jax questioned while lighting a cigarette.

"Hey!" Bobby winced, his hands up in defense. "The fat boy ain't even reached its prime."

"Barely looks like it can reach the end of the lot." Sydney deadpanned, eliciting laughter from the group who hadn't expected the clever jab from her.

"It is _the _best bike for a long ride." Sydney scowled again at Bobby's response while Juice chuckled as he watched her dramatic expressions. "And I'd put it up against any of your pretty Dyna's"

"You hittin a gay rodeo on the way?" Jax nodded to Bobby's chaps with a smug smile.

"It's Captain Chaps!"

"Cowhide protects the man-hide." He defended.

"Get in line, Brokeback." Sydney giggled as everyone hassled the older man before he turned away to pout, rolling his bike into formation and causing a sputtering cloud of black exhaust which only made the hassling worse.

"I'll get Gem to take me home." Sydney winked to Tig once the laughter died down, letting him off the hook as her chauffeur.

"Alright baby. You be careful." He ordered with a hardened blue gaze.

"Yeah, yeah." She giggled and rolled her eyes. "_You're_ the one who needs to be careful. Nothin's gonna happen to me." She smiled smugly, kissing him briefly before she headed off.

"She really gonna be able to pass us oncoming and make this work in the Dodge?" Juice approached Clay, nodding to Gemma's Caddy as it pulled out of the lot.

"Who said anything about her car?" Clay chuckled, patting a very confused Juice on the shoulder before he walked off.

Sydney was dressed for the occasion in a tight leather jacket, black jeans, and combat boots. She headed out to the garage, her eyes sparkling and heart fluttering as she eyed the tarp in the middle of the concrete room. She gripped the corner of the blue polyester and pulled it loose - a lightning bolt of adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Hi baby." She whispered dreamily.

After making the pick up in Lodi and beginning the trek back, the Sons were starting to look around in search of their blonde scapegoat. As soon as they saw the van veer off to the side of the road up ahead, they went into full panic mode, looking to the President for direction who rode without a trace of worry. They had no choice but to trust the judgment of their leader, but what they did know was that without Sydney - this plan could land them back in the hole for god knows how long, and none of them wanted that.

Suddenly the whining of an exhaust caught their attention, spotting a black Kawasaki Ninja h2r zooming past them and into the oncoming traffic lane, going at least 90mph. The men all exchanged glances as they questioned the logic of the clearly insane motorcyclist, but it was then that Tig caught the glimpse of smirks on Happy and Clay's faces, squinting his eyes to see the white-blonde hair peeking out from the helmet and whipping around in the wind.

"You gotta be fucking kidding." He grumbled as he realized that _this_ was real the plan all along.

The confused bikers eventually caught on as they watched the lone rider cross back into the correct lane of travel. Sydney freely laughed a laugh of pure joy as she heard the celebratory honking behind her, grinning under her shielded helmet. She would've sworn up and down that nothing on the planet felt as good as what she felt in that moment.

Her moment of euphoria was short-lived as she spotted the ghost car up ahead: a dark red Kia Forte pulled to the side of the road, hoping to trap speeding motorists. She reduced her speed, letting off the clutch - as the limit was only 65mph and her current speed of 90mph would surely get her impounded - but still going fast enough for a hefty ticket by the time that she passed the cop car. Sure enough, within seconds of passing, the blue and red flashing lights went off as the cop peeled out after her. She pulled off to the shoulder, anchoring her feet to the ground but making no effort to remove her helmet as grey haired man wearing classic cop aviator sunglasses approached.

"Do you have any idea how goddamn fast you were going? You're going to cause an accident and kill someone-" His rant was cut off, shock taking over his body as the reckless man removed his helmet to reveal that he was no man at all - he was a stunning young woman with innocent eyes and an angelic face.

"I'm so sorry officer." Sydney picked up her breathing and widened her eyes. "I just got this new bike and-" She gulped. "I'm not used to controlling the speed, I… I thought it would be safer to learn on the highway."

"Uh… It's okay sweetheart…" The man said awkwardly, not wanting to upset the inexperienced woman before she would have to ride again.

"Am I… Am I in trouble?" She asked meekly.

"I'm not gonna do anything that affects your demerits, but the sensors caught that speed, I'm afraid I have to process the ticket." The roaring Harley's of the Sons passed as the officer explained the situation, grumbling once he realized that he was missing out on a potential bust on the infamous M.C.

"Thank you so much sir!" Sydney perked up. "I completely understand. It won't happen, again I promise."

The patrolman processed the ticket and let her go, taking long enough - thanks to her chit chat - that the Sons would be too far for him to even consider pursuing them, opting to notify his fellow officer who was stationed further down the stretch of highway.

Sydney was sure to ride the speed limit until she was out of view before going full throttle, unleashing the beast on the open road. Between her excessive speed and the leisurely pace of the crew, she caught up quickly. Just as she was nearing the group, the van swerved off the road abruptly. Juice had discovered an out of view trap ahead over the police scanner which had been broadcasted by the earlier stop officer, alerting his crew as quickly as he could but he worrying that it would be too late for them to slow down and for Sydney to somehow get in front of the entourage _and_ take over the attention of the policeman who was waiting for them.

Sydney's brain started working overtime, carefully calculating her next moves and looking for her window - traffic was heavy, so she needed to make this count. She spotted it, the slight break between the flowing vehicles where she could weave through to get to her position. She cracked the throttle, straddling the yellow line that divided the road beneath her, her bike propelling her past the Sons with ease. She revved her engine three times as she passed them - _just for good measure_ \- gliding in between the cluster of Harleys and the vehicles ahead of them. She kicked up her speed, the possibility of being impounded was getting higher and higher but with the Sons close behind, she needed to be sure that _she_ was the one who would be stopped.

She whirled around another car, trying to put as much distance between herself and her crew as physically possible. As she approached the cop, she decided to take the risk, recklessly overtaking yet another vehicle right in front of the clearly marked squad car.

"What the hell is she doing?" Jax yelled to Clay who gave him no response, watching in anticipation.

Sydney eyed her rear view mirror nervously, praying that the cop would begin his pursuit, her heart sinking when he didn't. She did the first thing she could think of, swerving in front of an oncoming vehicle and swerving back, causing an uproar of honks from the disrupted traffic on the opposite side of the highway. The bubbling in her stomach was instantly calmed as the sirens finally went off and the cop car raced down the road after her - unable to help herself from chuckling at the ass-backwards logic of her nerves.

"Protecting her crew!" Clay gave his VP a delayed answer with a proud grin when she pulled over to the side of the road. She accelerated her breathing, squeezing her eyes shut as she filled them with tears, knowing that this excuse hardly warranted the fake tears because the real ones would surely be following soon after.

The middle aged, brown haired cop with a receding hairline came barrelling out of the vehicle, yelling all kinds of unpleasantries to the delinquent. She took her helmet off, making a show of gasping for air which stopped the officer dead in his tracks - not expecting the reckless motorist to be a young woman - but regaining his composure and continuing his rant.

"I can't breathe." She choked out in a sob, making a show of gasping for air as she ignored everything that the man said. He stopped his bantering when he realized he was going to send the clearly distraught woman into cardiac arrest.

"Uh… Ma'am, I need you to calm down…"

"I'm so sorry officer, my dad, he just had a heart attack and I need to get to Charming as soon as possible." Her words were broken by deep breaths.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I cannot let you go unscathed after that kind of recklessness."

"I… I understand sir, please just don't take me to jail, I might not get to say goodbye." The man was clearly conflicted between his heart and his badge - the Sons riding past them putting even more strain on his decision. "You can write me up for whatever you need to, I'll pay it, I just need to go sir, please." Her voice cracked.

The man contemplated for what felt like ever before finally agreeing to Sydney's terms, not letting her off easily as he gave her as many fines as possible and a lecture about how she was to ride safely all the way to the hospital.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek.

"Alright, alright. Let's not be doing that." He tried to remain professional as he lightly pushed her off of him. She gave him a grateful smile before pulling her helmet back on and firing up her Ninja, sighing heavily once she was safely behind the tinted shield, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the emotionally trying situation.

She took off, riding like a proper civilian this time when her eye caught something in the distance: the sun reflecting off of the chrome from the Harleys which were all pulled to the side of the road, the van closeby. She skidded to stop when she reached the group, ripping off her helmet and shuffling over to see what everyone was stopped for, seeing Tig lying in the grassy ditch along with his bike, an unimpressed looking Clay, an amused looking Jax, and a _very_ guilty looking Bobby - who coincidentally ran down to help Chibs and Happy aid their Sergeant, right when she arrived. She saw that Tig's injury was superficial, so she didn't feel guilty about the look she shared with Jax as they both tried to contain their laughter.

"It was that fucking Fat Boy wasn't it?" She asked the VP with a knowing smile.

"Yep." He laughed.

"I'm sorry man." Tig apologized to Clay as he gained his footing, his leg had been cut open badly enough from the wreck to cross him off of the roster for the remainder of the gun lug.

"You just get patched up." Clay wasn't mad at Tig, it wasn't his fault after all - but he was mad however, at the situation.

"I'm gonna shove that bike so far up your ass." Tig growled at Bobby as he hobbled past the older man, Half-Sack helping him to the van where he could sit.

"He's gonna be just fine…" Bobby's optimistic face fell as he saw the displeased looks on everyone's faces. Jax snickered again, him and Sydney sharing another amused smile - which only pissed Clay off even more.

"Call Piney, tell him we got a bike down, gonna need the flatbed."

"That's you. Call Piney!" Bobby yelled to the prospect.

"What was it? About the Fat Boy being the best bike for a long ride?" Sydney teased Bobby.

"Yeah, yeah…" He groaned, although he was pleased to only be taking hassling from the Sergeant's hot tempered girlfriend, rather than the verbal smackdown he'd expected.

"You tend to his every beck and call, wipe his goddamn ass if that's what he wants you to do!" Clay yelled to Bobby, tasking him, Happy, and Half-Sack to wait with Tig for Piney to arrive with the flatbed and accompany him to the hospital. Sydney felt that he was giving up far too much manpower just to go with Tig to the hospital, but she used her better judgment and kept her mouth shut rather than questioning the irritable president.

Sydney walked over to the van where Tig was sitting sideways with his legs hanging out the open door while Jax and Clay started arguing over who would be carrying his gun filled bedroll - the first time she saw Clay be a weak leader for letting his frustration get the better of him.

"What'd I tell you about being careful?" She chastised playfully as she approached the bleeding man.

"Baby, come on." Tig groaned.

"Don't worry Sergeant." She leaned in and pecked his lips. "I'll take care of ya." She grinned.

"There's only _one_ thing that will make me feel better right now." He spoke with a grin as he pulled her to semi straddle his lap, avoiding his hurt leg.

"Mmm what's that?" He didn't answer, responding by pressing his lips back to hers, easing his tongue into her mouth. She kissed back, allowing herself to indulge in the sweet taste of him before she pulled away.

"Don't be starting things that you can't finish."

"Who says I can't finish it?" He asked with a cheeky grin. Her lips curled up before she lightly slapped the gash on his leg, making him yell out pain.

"That's who." She winked, kissing him on the cheek before hopping off of him and making her way back to the group of agitated men.

The crew split up, Clay leading his group to a gas station just off the highway where they could safely meet back up with Piney after he dropped Tig off at the hospital, without raising suspicion.

"Where the hell were you guys?" Clay barked into his phone as he leant against his bike. "And you just let them-" Everyone exchanged looks of confusion, wondering what was upsetting the President to this magnitude, and wondering if it affected them. "No, no you just wait there! You've done enough goddamn damage today." Sydney raised an eyebrow towards Jax as she bit into her candy bar, wondering what Bobby and his Fat Boy could have possibly done now.

"What?" Jax asked, Clay noticing Piney pulling beside them, waiting for the old man to be in earshot before making his announcement.

"Bounty hunters, just picked up Tig."

"What?" Sydney exclaimed, she no longer judged his decision on the heavy manpower escort to the hospital because apparently it hadn't been enough.

"The hell for?" Opie questioned.

"Didn't stop to say." Clay responded sarcastically. "Half-Sack's trailing em."

"And they just let them take him?" Sydney yelled in bewilderment.

"Jesus Christ, how does that happen?"

"Ask the Jew in leather."

"Could've been the hospital, bounty hunters'll pay admins to call in names."

"If Tig had an outstanding warrant I'd know about it!" Clay shot down Jax's smart theory, showing Sydney that the pettiness between the President and his VP that caused turmoil in the club, could go both ways

"Might be out of state… Bounty's big enough they could be hauling his ass to Maine." Jax kept his cool.

"Okay so what are we gonna do about it?" Sydney asked impatiently, not understanding why they were arguing over the 'why' rather than the 'how' .

"We gotta go after him." Chibs stated easily.

"We got a delivery to make." Clay scoffed.

"Bondsmen have no jurisdiction, there's nothing to stop us from taking him back."

"What's stopping us are these bedrolls full of illegal handguns!" Clay sneered

"We go after him now, we got a chance, if he crosses state lines…" Jax shook his head.

"If Tig was here, he'd vote to deliver the guns." Sydney stayed silent, too busy running over every possible scenario in her head.

"Got em in a motel about two miles down the road, beat the shit out of him on the side of the road. Crazy prick must've provoked em, knows they can't bring him in beaten to a pulp." Piney informed everyone after snapping his phone shut.

"We dump the bedrolls somewhere safe, relay gets pushed back a few hours." Jax tried to reason, especially since they were already late as it was, he didn't see the harm in being a little later.

"We're goin." Clay concluded.

Sydney made eye contact with Piney as the two of them listened to the grown men bickering, nodding his head towards the bed of the truck and winking at her.

"Maybe we should call a vote." Jax suggested respectfully.

"Vote all you want, I'm going to get him." Sydney responded distantly as she began her path to the truck, which was quickly stunted by Clay harshly grabbing her bicep.

"Are you forgetting the rules, _Princess_? Members obey the orders of their President." He reminded her. If she wanted to earn a reaper on her back and become a Son, she would have to behave like one.

Sydney's blood ran cold. Anybody else would've found themselves with the barrel of her glock between their eyes for putting their hands on her, but she knew better than to disobey her President _and_ hold him at gunpoint. Clay's grip loosened as he noticed the change in her demeanor, physically seeing the murder fill her eyes.

"Well it's a good thing I'm not a member." She said slowly through grit teeth, the venom dripping from her seething, low tone before she ripped her arm from the giant hand that had swallowed it.

She ran and jumped up onto the flatbed, Piney handing her a shotgun. Jax grinned at her blatant defiance - of course if they were on opposing sides, he would've been pissed, but he decided to let himself revel in the victory that the blonde firecracker had provided him.

Sydney's heart was racing as anxiety bubbled within her every cell, instantly calming as Jax and Chibs climbed on with her. She grinned big in satisfaction for the support.

"Where the hell you going?" They heard Clay yelling in the distance as Piney took off down the road, meeting up with Happy and Bobby at the entrance of the gas station.

"Whats up?" Happy called over the chugging exhausted of the truck.

"Shit kickin!"

"I'm in!" The bald man climbed on, leaving the ever so grounding Bobby Elvis to tend to their President.

"So biker barbie does more than just ride bitch, huh?" Jax nudged Sydney's arm playfully. Just then they hit a bump, causing Tig's bike to topple over.

"Bitch bar's looking mighty fine." She teased.

"We have a plan here?" Chibs asked as they pulled up to the shitty motel where Half-Sack trailed the bounty hunters.

"Got em in room 12." The prospect jogged up, jumping up onto the flatbed.

Jax looked to Sydney for direction - she knew that his sudden willingness to give her control was just a result of his animosity towards Clay, but it still felt good. As much as she enjoyed toying with the VP, she was glad to know that their squabbling wasn't anything personal.

"Ask the old man." She decided to give Piney the lead.

"Alright, hang on guys!" Piney called over his shoulder.

"Jesus christ." Jax shook his head at the crazy look in Sydney's eyes once Piney swung the flatbed around, revealing that his master plan was just to drive straight through the fucking building.

"Shit! Arms up ladies." Chibs yelled over the beeping of the truck as it reversed.

Tig was tied to a chair in the middle of the motel room as the lot of burley bounty hunters attempted to patch him up well enough to ensure they would collect the bounty when they brought him in. His eyes widened as he spotted the truck outside, coming full speed towards the window, a wide grin spreading across his duct taped mouth.

The flatbed successfully crashed through the hotel room without injuring anybody. Sydney cocked the shotgun, ready to fire if necessary while Happy pushed any debris out of the way so he and Half-Sack could jump down and help Tig up onto the bed of the truck while the others held the men at gunpoint.

"Don't move!" Sydney yelled to the group of shocked men as her and Jax kept their weapons aimed at them.

"Or I will blow your balls off!" Chibs warned as he spotted Half-Sack who was untying Tig.

As soon as his hands were free, Tig ripped the tape off of his mouth. "Hey guys, listen I gotta tell ya." He stood and began collecting his weapons off the table. "I had alotta fun, I really gotta go, this is my ride." He jumped up onto the flatbed, Jax helping him scoot back. "Thanks for everything! Hopefully we can do it again sometime." Sydney chuckled at his shit disturbing ways, knowing she would've done the same thing.

The rest of the cavalry climbed on, keeping their weapons pointed at the men as the truck pulled out of the disheveled room before cheering as they drove away.

"Hi baby." Sydney gave Tig the most innocent, angelic smile that she could muster up.

"You have got _so_ much explaining to do." He growled while she laughed and bit her lip.

The recovery crew made it back to the gas station in no time with Tig in hand, seeing Bobby hanging back by the bikes at the fuel pumps while Opie and Clay spoke on the curbside across the lot.

"Now would ya look at that, we still got time to spare." Sydney vexxed when Clay approached, feeling cocky after the victory.

Clay kept his mouth shut and his expression hard as he walked over to the passenger door where Tig was settling in for the ride back.

"Got a death wish." Opie stated plainly when he rejoined his group, not being too clear about who his statement was directed at. Jax and Sydney exchanged a look, silently agreeing not to say anything after Opie had stayed behind to kiss Clay's ass rather than helping them rescue the Sergeant At Arms. "No comment?" Sydney gave a slight nod, letting Jax take the reins on this one.

"Just a little cautious I guess. Not sure what I say aint gonna land in Clay's ear."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You tell me, bro."

"Don't drag me into whatever bullshit you got going on with stepdaddy, alright?" Sydney bit her cheek to contain her smirk of amusement at Opie's comment.

"I know you're pissed… But the guys were right this time. Motel was a quick stop, I woulda been in Oregon by the end of the day." Tig attempted to calm Clay's wrath as he covered for his crew.

"Take him to St. Thomas. Hopefully that's within your plan." Clay mused to Piney.

"This aint on the kids, it was my idea. You'll just have to blame it on the… Dementia." Piney laughed, trying to keep the mood light. Clay gave a sarcastic smile, showing that he was anything but amused as he slammed the passenger door.

"Ah shit…" Tig groaned as he watched Clay walk away, knowing that he wasn't going to back down easily - and knowing that his girlfriend was sitting pretty on the top of his shit list.

"It's gonna be a long ride, Tigger." Piney laughed, handing him the whiskey bottle.

The rest of the run went smoothly, awkward as all hell as no one was speaking to each other - but smoothly. The Sons eventually met up with Laroy just outside of Charming to make the drop while Sydney made her way to St. Thomas.

"You guys are one short?" Laroy pointed out, normally he would've had no idea who the fuck was and wasn't on the Sons' roster, but he remembered the crazy Sergeant swooping in on the hot brunette from the day earlier.

"Yeah, got all the cargo though." Clay brushed off the black man's the hand off was completed, no words were exchanged between the Sons as they all went their separate ways, some returning home to their families, and some heading to the clubhouse.

"Sydney." A friendly voice greeted as she walked through the sliding doors of St. Thomas with her helmet under her arm.

"Hey Tara." Sydney smiled, so far she'd decided that she quite liked Tara, regardless of what Gemma thought.

"You looking for Gemma?"

"No, Tig actually, but I shouldn't be surprised that Gemma's here." She sighed.

"No you shouldn't." The two smiled as they joked about Gemma's hands-on role as grandma. "So… Tig huh?" Tara's voice dropped as she quirked an eyebrow, letting a little bit more personality show through her professional front.

"I told you I wasn't coming for your man." Sydney smirked.

Tara was leading the young blonde to where Tig was in the ER when her phone started ringing. "Hello." She answered before her face fell and she quickly hung up, shoving the phone back into the pocket of her lab coat.

"What was that?" Sydney scowled.

"Oh uh." Tara laughed nervously, trying to play off her shock. "Nothing, just thought I blocked all the telemarketers from Chicago." Sydney knew she was lying but she didn't press the issue, she didn't know Tara well enough yet to determine whether or not she should be concerned for her, staying silent so that the doctor would know that she wasn't fooling her.

"Here he is." The brunette announced somewhat awkwardly as they approached Tig, before taking her leave.

"Hey Princess." Tig slurred as he looked up to see Sydney, it was obvious that he had been given some proper pain meds.

"Hey Sarge, you look stunning as usual." She grinned back. "You gonna ride bitch?" She teased.

"Oh yeah! How the _hell_ did you pull that shit off?"

"I guess I had a good teacher." She winked.

"You are gonna get it." He slurred.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm real worried, let's go." Sydney followed the flatbed back to the clubhouse, thanking Piney as he helped Tig into his dorm.

"Well, looks like you trapped me again. Can't be leaving you alone like this." She teased, shrugging out of her jacket.

"It was my plan all along, baby." Tig mumbled as he laid face down in his pillow.

"Mhmm, I'm sure it was." She kissed him on the top of the head. "I'm going to get some fresh air and something to eat, I'll be back soon." She laughed as she realized Tig had already passed out before she could finish her sentence.

Sydney took advantage of her favorite time of day - when the hot California sun began to retreat behind the hills and a peaceful haze would set in - to recount the events of the day as she smoked a joint on her bike. She was so relaxed that she barely noticed Clay approach, sitting on his bike next to her.

"Kawasaki looks a little outta place." He attempted to lighten the atmosphere, referring to the only slant bike sitting in the row of Harleys.

"Like me." She responded with a chuckle.

"A raven among crows." Clay surmised with a smile as she passed him her joint, sharing the weed in silence. "I'm sorry about today-"

"I don't give a shit about today." Clay cut her off.

"Whatever's going on there is affecting the club, affecting the calls being made." Sydney summed up his thoughts without him having to elaborate. "Today though… That was a textbook example of why we _can't_ have this shit. You guys thinking every opinion and call is being made out of spite." Clay wanted to defend himself when she called him out, but he knew that she meant well and he knew she was right, and he also knew that her first priority was the club.

"You talk too much like a member." He chuckled, passing her back the joint.

"Gimme a patch then." She teased before taking another drag. "Whatever is going on, the bottom line is that _Jax_ needs to get right with _you_." She finished on a strong note as she passed back the end of the joint. Today, Clay was wrong, but she knew why and she didn't blame him.

"Yeah… He does." Clay said distantly as he stamped out the roach and took his leave.


	18. Bullshit Before Bullets

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 18: BULLSHIT BEFORE BULLETS**

Tig felt himself being slowly coaxed out of his sleep by a pleasant tightening in his stomach. He kept his eyes closed, still not fully awake as his hands gripped the sheets below him in pleasure before moving to grasp the source of his euphoria.

His eyes flew open the second that the softness of hair made contact with his rough hands, realizing that his wet dream was very much a reality. He opened one eye and looked down, meeting Sydney's wide eyes as she knelt on the bed in front of him, topless and sucking him into her mouth. Both of his eyes opened quickly when he realized what was happening, the feeling so intense at the early hour that he didn't even acknowledge the pounding in his head as a result of yesterday's painkillers and whiskey.

"Baby." He groaned, starting to sit up before she pressed her tongue harder along the underside of his cock and withdrew him from her mouth, licking the tip teasingly before pushing herself up the bed to meet him halfway.

"Relax." She pressed her lips to his quickly in a heated kiss, curling her tongue around his before pulling away just as abruptly, pushing him back down to the bed lightly by her hands on his chest. She smirked to herself as she made her way back down the bed, smoothing her hands down his thighs - careful to avoid his injury - after hearing his whimper at the loss of contact.

"You are gonna kill me." He growled through gritted teeth as he craned her neck to look down at her.

"Why's that Tiggy?" She asked with a pout, her lips only a hair away from the tip of his cock.

"Because-" Before he could get his sentence started, she cut him off by shoving him back into her mouth, all the way to the back of her throat. She withdrew again as he caught his breath, laughing sadistically.

"That's fucking why. Get up here." He ordered.

"Or what?" She bit her lip, teasing him as she knew there wasn't much he could do in his predicament.

"Come on doll, you wouldn't do that to an injured man would ya?"

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought you did." Her tone was playful. "You gonna be a good patient and sit still for the nurse?"

His eyes glinted as he laid back - he didn't have a reputation as a kinky bastard for no reason. Besides, he figured that letting her finish the task at hand wouldn't exactly be the _worst _thing on the planet. She raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes discerningly as she lowered herself back down, continuing the sloppy blowjob she had started.

"You gonna keep making me ask what went down yesterday?" Tig asked playfully, lightly tickling Sydney's exposed ribs as she lay with her back pressed against his chest, enjoying what _was_ the relaxing sensation of his hands caressing the sensitive skin covering her upper body. She squealed, trying to wiggle out of his grip before he managed to calm her by stilling his hands and pressing his lips to the back of her neck.

"Maybe I just want you to make up for falling asleep on me so early, I was so lonely I almost had to use Jax to get off." She tilted her head all the way back to look at him with those sparkling doe eyes and mischievous smile, seeing his bright blue eyes narrowing. "What first?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes as she turned onto her stomach, using his outstretched arm as a pillow.

"The fact that you ride."

"I got my motorcycle license not long after I got my drivers, I'm surprised you didn't catch on when you were teaching me and somehow I knew how to switch gears and lean opposite while turning." She smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." He groaned. "What about Clay?" Her expression went far for serious when he brought up her defiance.

"He didn't think the bounty was serious, Jax tried to reason with him and we all know how that seems to go."

"Didn't used to be that way." Tig observed aloud.

"Yeah..." She nodded slowly as he confirmed her ongoing suspicions. "You think it has anything to do with me?"

"Maybe." He blinked. "Started just before Abel was born, got worse when you came. I don't think it's anything against you, think it's somethin against you siding with Clay." Sydney nodded, agreeing with the theory that she hadn't considered.

"Piney knew it was serious so I went with him, Jax, Chibs and Hap joined, you know the rest." She was short as she recounted the rest of the day's events. She knew he was joking about her having to explain herself when it came to riding, but she had a feeling that his playful demeanor did not extend as far as her blatantly disobeying orders.

"Syd… Crossing Clay… You gotta be careful-."

"Yeah, I know." She snapped, not needing a lecture from the man who was currently laying in his own bed and not in a jail cell, because of her. She took a deep breath. "I talked to Clay, he aint happy but he aint pissed at me either, I'll be fine." Tig just nodded in response, chuckling as he noted that the little firecracker was even harder to be reasoned with than he was.

"Guess I have some explainin to do too." He grimaced.

"Yeah, what the fuck?" She exclaimed with wide eyes and a crease in her forehead, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He recoiled. "The hell you hittin me for? I'm cooperatin!"

"You're fucking stunted if you don't know why! Making me forget that _you_ were the one who caused all this shit, getting your ass hauled off for god knows what."

"Hey." He held up a finger in protest. "Technically, Bobby was the one who caused it."

"Oh yeah? Bobby cause the bounty too?" He just winced in response. "Yeah, that's what I thought." The pair chuckled before Tig went on to tell her about the bounty hunters and Bobby being dubbed his bitch until he was healed, the two of them laughing hysterically at the Sergeant's shit disturbing ways. Even battered and bed ridden, Tig was glowing - basking in the safe haven that she provided him. He'd never expected to see the day where he would be spending a morning laid up with a blonde in her twenties, laughing about his less than conventional mishaps.

"I love you." He grinned.

"Yeah, I bet you do." She shook her head and smiled teasingly. "You're lucky you're hurt, I'd make ya get on your knees and grovel to me."

"That would hardly be a punishment." He smirked suggestively.

"Oh yeah? I'll hold you to that." She smirked before exiting the bed to get herself ready for the day's work at TM, unbraiding her hair and dressing in light washed jeans, a slightly cropped red tank top, and her combat boots, ditching her leather jacket for now. Between the ground level shoes that didn't at all match her casual outfit, and the jeans that she longed to be a pair of shorts on this hot July day - she was feeling like less than herself.

"I need more clothes here." She complained as she exited the bathroom, feeling her skin crawling in frustration as she moved around the room to gather her things for the day.

Tig raised an eyebrow when she stomped around in a huff. He didn't understand what she was upset about - he thought she looked hot in the tight jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places, but if there was anything that he'd learned from being a dad and a husband in his lifetime - it was to smile and nod when it came to things like this.

"Babe." She was temporarily distracted from the tirade she felt bubbling in her chest, looking up to see Tig sitting against the headboard, watching her pout like a child.

"I don't wanna hear it." She whined, knowing how ridiculous he probably thought she was being.

He chuckled. "Bottom drawer, the black Harley one on the top." He nodded towards his dresser.

She furrowed her brows in confusion but followed his instructions anyways, opening the drawer to see a bunch of t-shirts. "You don't have to-"

"It's fine. I don't need it back." He nodded, letting her know that she could do whatever she wanted to make it her own, knowing it would make her feel better about the situation. He'd seen her wear band t-shirts before and he didn't mind sacrificing one of his if it meant that she would be more comfortable, especially since he was the reason that she didn't have her proper clothes. "We can just consider my debt squared." He winked.

She bit her lip and swayed bashfully as a blush spread across her face before she grabbed the scissors and headed to the bathroom where she cut out the front of the shirt to expose her cleavage, leaving the neckline intact to give a choker effect, knotting it up in the front to tie the look together.

"I should've left you in the other top." Tig grimaced when she re-emerged after somehow having turned the large men's shirt into a top even more revealing than the tiny one that she'd been wearing earlier, quickly dropping his facade and grinning. "Bring some more of your clothes here, I can give up another drawer if I need to." He winked, wanting her to know that this space was just as much hers as it was his - even if this was the space that he lived in.

"You only got yourself to blame, Sergeant." She smiled back at him as she put the scissors back, walking over to him and leaning down for a goodbye kiss which she deepened, showing her gratitude for his thoughtful actions. "Thank you." She whispered before pressing her lips back to his in another sweet embrace before she finally pulled away to get to her shift on time.

"Hi Kippy." Sydney cheerfully greeted the prospect who was lugging cases of beer from the main room of the clubhouse, to the fridges behind the bar, as she passed by on her way out to the office.

"Hey Syd." Half-Sack raised a hand in greeting before realizing just as she was walking out the door, that he was supposed to be keeping her confined to the clubhouse. "Shit." He grumbled before racing after her, tapping her shoulder just as she was about to cross the threshold. "Hey! Uh, that was cool yesterday." He attempted to look nonchalant by sticking his arm straight up and flopping his body against the doorframe.

Sydney raised a brow in amusement; the poor kid couldn't be deceptive if his life depended on it. "It was." She nodded and gave a half-assed smile, her expectant eyes telling him that she was onto him.

"Your bike looks real cool you know… With all the other bikes." He waved his hand frantically towards the bikes that were lined up in the middle of the compound. Sydney glanced quickly in the direction he was pointing before using the element of surprise to catch him off guard, taking one step and pressing him against the wall with her body holding him in place.

"Cut the shit prospect." She nodded to him. "What're you tryin to distract me for?" She spoke close to his face.

"What? Distract you? No way." His grimace overtook his scoff.

"You wanna keep that one nut don't ya?" The poor kid winced in defeat. Even though she stood at a mere 5'4, he found her light tone to be scarier than any menacing threat she could've presented him with.

"In the garage…" He mumbled.

Sydney looked him up and down with a smirk. "Good boy." She nodded with a cocky smile before taking off in the very direction that she wasn't supposed to go.

"Thought the ol' Fat Boy was supposed to be lyin in a ditch off 99?" Bobby and Juice jumped at the sound of a woman's voice behind them, whipping their heads around to see Sydney leaning against a car with a smirk on her face.

Bobby scowled, scanning the compound for Half-Sack who he'd tasked with keeping Sydney and Tig _away_ from the garage whilst he and the Intelligence Officer attempted to fix the beloved Fat Boy that Tig had ordered he leave behind. Half-Sack stood in the doorway, wincing and shrugging his shoulders dramatically to try and let Bobby know that he had done everything in his power to keep the invasive blonde occupied.

"All you had to do was get him to tell me that I had the day off." She stated matter-of-factly, sporting a smug smirk as she taunted the men for their lack of effort.

"Look, this bike is my baby, okay. It's my baby!"

Sydney turned her head dramatically and raised her brows. "Tell ya what, I won't say anything to Tig, if you all _pretend_ that Half-Sack told me I have the day off."

"Deal." Bobby replied easily.

Sydney smiled big - half in satisfaction, half in gloat - before waltzing back to the clubhouse where she walked into the poorly lit room, seeing a few more members had trickled in for the day. She spotted Jax sipping his coffee at the bar, deciding she would try to converse with the prince in an attempt to maintain their current good standing.

"No church?" She asked, sliding into one of the empty bar stools next to the blonde man.

"Money's in the safe, marked envelopes."

"Damn… He _is_ pissed." Sydney raised her eyebrows and snickered, her knowing smile matching the one on his face. "What's going on there anyway?" She questioned as casually as possible, knowing that she was still on thin ice with the VP.

"I don't know man…" He shrugged. "Just thinkin about shit since the kid was born. The club, the future, my dad." He explained. Since Jax had regained contact with Tara in the past few days, he had managed to soften up enough to at least control his emotions on the spot instead of lashing out and getting defensive.

"She could be good for you." She shot him a knowing smirk as she nodded, which he returned. "How is Abel?" She asked with a smile and a softness to her tone as she broached the sensitive subject.

"Seems to be out of the woods, gonna be in the cage for a while though." Jax spoke with resentment while he referred to the incubation chamber that Abel was to stay in until he was bigger and healthier.

"Like father, like son." She chuckled before falling into a short silence. "You don't think Clay is carrying on the legacy." She surmised with a distant nod as the conclusion finally came to her.

"Yeah, somethin like that." Sydney could see the quick change in his demeanor: the way his jaw clenched tighter, his eyes went dark and his expression went sour. She knew that there was more to the story - making a mental note to do some digging where she could, remembering what Tig had said about his behaviour since she had arrived.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with daddy issues." She nudged him with her elbow.

Jax dropped his brooding temporarily in response to her playful subject change. "Darlin... You got more than daddy issues, you got _grandpa_ issues." He scoffed.

"If grandpa issues are on the table… I'm next in line." Piney husked as he hauled his oxygen tank up onto the bar top.

"You're my next stop, old man." Sydney licked her lips lazily as she gave the founding member a once over.

"You ever fucked anyone your own age?" Jax scoffed.

"Uh yeah, what d'you think made me realize that juvenile dick aint my bent?" He smiled bashfully, the brashness of the young woman never failing to take him aback.

Sydney took her leave, heading to the chapel to retrieve her payout from the gun run before returning to the main room for some more company. "Hi Chibby." She greeted the scot with a friendly smile, taking a seat at the table he was occupying.

"Aye Princess. Ye aint workin today?" Sydney glanced towards the door where the men were working incognito.

"Apparently not." She smiled.

A couple of hours later, Tig hobbled out of his room after his calls to Fat Elvis went ignored. "Bobby!" The Sergeant screamed at the top of his lungs, startling Chibs who was in the middle of a heated round of 'five finger fillet' with Sydney.

"Holy fuck!" Sydney exhaled in relief, wide eyed and laughing nervously with her hand pressed over her heart after dodging the knife that would've found itself plunged through the top of her delicate hand, no thanks to her man's outburst. "That's you." She looked to Half-Sack who was parked behind the bar, looking unsure of what to do about the needy Sergeant.

"Christ! Nearly chopped your lass' hand off! I'm sure ye don't want that." Chibs gave Tig a pointed look.

"Where the hell is Bobby?" He whined impatiently.

"In the garage, fixing the Fat Boy." Sydney replied casually, not looking at Tig as she began slamming the knife between Chibs' fingers.

"What?" Tig exclaimed, right as Bobby walked in.

"What d'ya need Tigger?"

"I thought I told you to leave that hunk of junk on the side of the road! What the hell you doin fixin it?" Sydney smirked while she listened to the men arguing.

"You can't be serious man-"

"No no no no no." Tig shook his head while the long haired man protested. "I don't give a shit, get rid of that fucking bike." Bobby shifted his gaze to the unbothered blonde who was supposed to be keeping him and his Fat Boy under wraps.

"Really?" He widened his eyes and held out his hands in disbelief. Sydney looked up, still moving the knife across the hand of the foreign man.

"Slip of the tongue." She stated sweetly with a shrug, slamming the blade down harshly between his ring finger and pinky without looking. She grinned sadistically as the entire table shook under her force, seeing the worry on everyone's faces before she pushed herself up. "Oh by the way." She called over her shoulder as she stood in the doorway of the clubhouse. "You should try replacing the fuel lines." She winked at Bobby.

"Is there anything she _can't_ do?" He asked in disbelief.

"Taxes?" Juice suggested.

"Did em in San Bern. when we didn't have a treasurer." Happy seemingly came out of nowhere to answer the question.

"Handstands?"

"Nah brother, she can do those too." Tig winked and nodded with a devilish squint.

"I don't even wanna know what that means." Juice scowled.

Later in the day, Clay had finally gotten over his mood from the day prior, gathering up the courage to finally show his face in the clubhouse. He emerged from the chapel and into the main room, holding the envelopes that had not yet been collected.

"Afternoon kids! Deal with the Niners has officially closed. Spoke with Laroy, and he is giddy about his new assault rifles." The President had a giant grin plastered on his face as he tossed the envelopes to their respective owners.

Sydney and Jax exchanged an amused smirk, knowing that his excitement was being heavily exaggerated in an attempt to distract everyone from his equally dramatic tantrum the day before.

"I love the greed! All about the benjamins." Chibs waved his envelope around.

"Hey! Just got an update from my City Hall snitch, looks like Hale's got a warrant to search our warehouse." Juice reported.

"The warehouse that burned down a month ago?" Sydney questioned with a scowl, unsure why how or why a warrant was now being obtained for a pile of bones that had sat untouched for over a month.

"Why's Hale the one doin it?" Clay sneered, concerned over why the Deputy was barking up a tree that he had no business scratching on. "That ain't Charming jurisdiction!"

"Is there still evidence up there?" Sydney was appalled that she even had to ask, but based on Clay's reaction, she already knew the answer.

"Warehouse bones haven't been touched." Jax sighed. "Trammel was keepin it under wraps."

"So what the fuck is he doing now?" Sydney exclaimed. "You are _seriously_ telling me that you haven't bothered getting that shit cleaned up?"

"Had bigger problems to deal with." Chibs replied.

"Twenty-five to life seems like a pretty big fucking problem to me." She retorted.

"Our names aint connected to that warehouse, Hale had no way of linking it to us, Trammel was keeping it contained!" Clay's voice boomed in defense.

"Well something has made him decide to start looking into it, now hasn't it? If there is even a _shred_ of your DNA somewhere in that pile of rubble and gun parts, you better get cozy with the idea of spending the rest of your days getting topped by a cellmate."

"Shit!" Clay cursed after sitting on her words for a second. The evidence of gun running in the warehouse wasn't the issue, the possibility of Hale linking it to SAMCRO was. "Call Unser, call Trammel. Get everyone at the table!"

"Trammel said there was nothin he could do. Hale showed up, started pokin around, got enough for a warrant." Tig relayed his phone call with the San Joaquin sheriff, to the full table.

"If we don't somehow get that shit taken care of, that gun factory could land right on our doorstep."

"And ATF takes up a permanent residence in our collective rectums." Sydney smirked at Juice's analogy.

"That warehouse sits on County property, Hale's gonna have to wait days for San Joa. to shake loose a forensic unit." Clay smoked a cigar while trying to remain calm and realistic.

"It's a local case, County won't get involved. Hale'll just wind up borrowin a unit from Lodi."

"Hey, Big Otto's sister still works for the ADA in Lodi… Call her, see if there's a forensic team heading this way." Sydney was starting to realize that when Jax was level headed, he was a force to be reckoned with - not just a pretty face, perhaps she'd judged the temporarily weak-minded Vice President too harshly.

"I gotta talk to Unser. Maybe I can convince the Chief to put a leash on his hyperactive Deputy."

After church, Clay took off to meet with Unser and Tig laid whining on the couch in the clubhouse while everyone went about their day as usual. Sydney took the lull in business as an opportunity to head back home, it _was_ her day off after all. She fired up her bike, getting ready to peel out of the compound when she realized that the keys to her house were still in Tig's room. She groaned at the delay in time keeping her from her Ninja - and her change of clothes, ripping off her helmet and jogging into the clubhouse. She stopped with one foot in the door, seeing none other than Cheryl sitting on the couch, trying to rub Tig's leg.

"I said I don't need anything." He tried to brush her off but his injury didn't exactly have him in a position to make a break away.

"He needs more medical shit. You can go get that from the hospital, can't you Cheryl?" The croweater straightened up on the couch when she heard the unexpected voice from behind her.

"I don't take orders from you-"

"_You can go get that from the hospital, can't you Cheryl?_" Sydney raised her voice, a much firmer tone than her previously exaggerated sweet one as she repeated herself, letting the older woman know that it wasn't up for debate. Cheryl looked to Tig for confirmation.

"Are you deaf? Go." He shooed her away. Sydney stood firmly planted in front of the door, glaring Cheryl down as she was forced to awkwardly try and slip past her.

Tig's eyes were wide as his mouth opened to plead his case but Sydney just raised a brow and gave him a discerning smirk, walking down the hall to retrieve her keys and walking right back out to where her bike was waiting.

The blue eyed man sat on the couch in a conundrum, he had no fucking clue if she was _actually_ pissed or if this was just another game that they would play. He thought he saw a ghost of a smirk on her face, but her storming past him without a word when she left had made it impossible to tell. He groaned, yelling for Half-Sack to bring him the whiskey bottle to help cope with the stress that the day had put on him.

Sydney was spending the early afternoon cleaning around her house, absently listening to crime podcasts and leisurely sipping rosé when her phone began ringing with a call from Tig. She decided to ignore it, let him sweat a little for the incident this morning. She wasn't at all pissed, in fact - the jealousy turned her on, but she didn't need him to know that yet.

Tig groaned as his call went to voicemail, surely she was ignoring him. He ran his hands over his face in frustration, unsure of how to handle the situation. If she was going to get upset every time a croweater or a hangaround hit on him, they were going to have _a lot_ of problems. However, something about the predicament vaguely ticked a memory in his brain, the memory of her storming off for show before her striptease when they played darts, making him once again question the motive behind her actions. Regardless of what his standing was with his much younger girlfriend, he was not in the shape to deal with it hands on.

"Sack!" He yelled for the hundredth time that day. "Call Syd for me." He ordered when Half-Sack jogged over, who was trying to look as enthusiastic as possible after spending his entire day catering to the injured Sergeant.

"Did you need me to get your phone for you or-"

"Did I say ask questions?" Tig cut off his alternative solutions. "Nah, I said call Syd for me." The poor kid wasn't trying to talk back - he was genuinely curious, but he still had not caught onto the fact that the reasoning for his curiosity wasn't the problem, the problem was the fact that he expressed curiosity at all. He fumbled with the pocket of his kutte, pulling out his phone to call his friend.

Sydney snorted when she saw her phone lighting up seconds later with a call from Half-Sack, unable to believe how obvious men could be with their tactics.

"Hi Kippy!" She answered cheerfully, knowing that if Tig wasn't listening - he would get a run down of the conversation at the very least.

Tig glared at the younger man as his call was instantly answered. Half-Sack widened his eyes frantically - half in apology - not wanting to be collateral damage in whatever sick game the odd pair was playing at, and half in uncertainty over what he was supposed to say.

"Church." Tig grumbled, pushing himself up off of the couch and hobbling off to the chapel, too defeated to ask for help.

"Uh, could you like, come back to the clubhouse? You know, for church?"

"I sure can. I'll see you soon." She replied sweetly, hanging up the call before she rode her bike back to the clubhouse, swapping her combat boots and jeans for black converse and shorts - still not her staple black Louboutins but they allowed for riding, something she was going to have to get used to if she wanted to patch in someday.

Sydney entered the clubhouse with a bubblegum flavored lollipop between her lips, mentally preparing herself for whatever other bullshit the group of men would likely lay on her this afternoon. She fell into formation behind Bobby, Juice and Chibs who were all lined up to enter the chapel, dropping their phones into the empty box on the pool table.

"Jimmy Cacuzza called. The Italian's wanna place an order, I didn't know what to say." Bobby looked to Clay for direction.

"How about: the store burned down, they missed the fire sale." Clay suggested as he crossed the threshold, to which Sydney snorted in response, her expression falling as soon as she saw Tig already in his chair.

"Well, I talked to Otto's sister and Lodi forensic team will be here first thing in the morning." Juice reported the bad news as he sat down.

"And the shit keeps piling on my head." Clay smiled sarcastically.

"So we distract em with something big in Lodi, get the shit out while they're busy." Sydney suggested easily, not able to keep the disappointment out of her tone - for such smart men, these guys could be incredibly fucking stupid.

"Only one thing that's gonna stop that Lodi forensics team from gettin to our warehouse, and that's another murder in Lodi." Clay surmised.

"Yep." Tig agreed.

"I don't know…" Jax exhaled in distress, shaking his head doubtfully. _Here we go again…_ Sydney thought, seeing that Clay was apparently thinking the same thing as his head snapped up, prepared to defend himself against Jax's doubt. "Hale's on red alert, Mayan's, Nord's, everyone's twitchy as hell man…" Jax had a point, but Sydney failed to see what half of it had to do with the situation at hand.

"You're all gonna be twitchy as hell sitting in ATF holding." She reminded the VP of the vast difference in consequences.

"It's not a good time to kill-"

"It's never a good time. We're talking about the whole club here… Stayin outta ATF's crosshairs." Clay cut him off, to which he and everyone else half-heartedly nodded in response, knowing that this was a messy situation that could land on all of them. "We hit the projects, find ourselves a scumbag, a dealer…" Clay tried to present his plan in a way that seemed more ethically sound.

"We should off a coupla Nords Clay, is what we should do. Alright, we should just do that and then dump the bodies in Lodi. Buys us some time, sends a message to Darby, kills two birds with one crow."

"That points fingers at us with Hale _and_ with the Nords." Sydney shot down her man's idea which on any other day, she would've been more onboard for. She wasn't doing it _purely_ out of spite - she truly did mean what she said about it blowing back on the club, but she didn't mind the idea that her disagreement gave.

"Doesn't matter." Tig shook his head quickly in response to her argument against what he'd thought was a seamless plan.

"I'll handle that." Clay responded to Sydney. "You." He pointed to Tig. "Set it up." Tig nodded, hastily getting up from the table in a temporary slip of the memory about his injury, too hyped up with adrenaline from the combination of getting to slaughter some skinheads, brownie points with his President, _and_ winning this battle with Sydney.

"Looks like you lost this one, Pussycat." He purred into Sydney's ear before heading to the door.

She felt all of her senses electrify as his smooth but condescending words passed through her ear. She smirked in response, moving the lollipop in her mouth from one side to the other with her tongue. She was weirdly okay with the defeat as it proved that _just_ when she thought she had the upper hand, he pulled her right back into another challenge - showing just why he was perfect for her.

"Hey!" Jax called after the Sergeant who was just about to exit the chapel, making Sydney's smirk grow into a full blown grin as she had a feeling that the approval on Tig's plan was about to be revoked. "What if I could do this without spilling blood?"

Sydney fought off the urge to roll her eyes _only_ because Jax was her saving grace in this round with the angsty Sergeant. Luckily for her, Clay rolled his eyes and Tig had a scowl on his face deeper than she had ever seen, she didn't even need to use her expressions when the blood hungry men could do it for her.

"Look this aint me tripping some guilt shit because of my kid. This is about one of us thinking straight." She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips in amusement, it seemed Jax had caught onto their assumptions over his mindset. "Brains before bullets, right?" He pointed to the sign on the wall behind him, pulling out all of the stops to attempt to throw them off of his trail. Sydney snorted, _more like bullshit before bullets. _

Tig retook his seat, looking less than impressed as he avoided Sydney's taunting gaze. She couldn't help but linger her eyes on the brooding man who looked sexy as hell while he stroked his goatee with his ring clad fingers, the games of deception and dominance only adding to her lust.

"Let's hear it."

"All we need for murder are: bodies, and a crime scene."

"Jackie Boy… Now you lost me."

"Skeeter… He's always got more gambling debt than he can handle. I'll make it worth his while." Jax explained smugly.

"The cemetery guy?" Bobby scoffed.

"Cash for cadavers… I like it." Chibs agreed. Sydney wasn't against this plan necessarily, but what she was against - was the mother chapter's VP going soft.

"I give Lodi a front page murder and we don't stir up another shit storm to bite us in the ass."

"What about educating Darby." Tig asked the second that Jax finished talking. Sydney found herself smiling bashfully as Tig spoke, entranced by every single thing that he did.

"I'll figure that out. The important thing is to keep our DNA out of a petri dish, protect the club."

"Path of least resistance is always best, right?" No one seemed to object - not openly at least. Sydney would much rather off some kiddie fucker in Lodi, but she supposed this would get the job done. "We do it your way VP." The glare that Clay gave Jax was not lost on Sydney. "The other thing…" Clay switched gears before everyone cleared out. "Unser's stepping down as Chief, Hale's taking his spot in a few weeks."

No one seemed surprised by the news, but surprised or not, the fact didn't change that having the new Chief of local police, up the M.C.'s ass would be _very_ bad for business.

"What does that mean for us?" Sydney asked.

"Not too sure yet… Made several gestures of friendship and Hale's declined every one."

"There's no way that we can convince the good Chief to stay on any longer?" Clay smirked at Sydney's suggestive questioning, wishing that more of his patches could be as hands on and likeminded as the young woman.

"Well maybe there is." He smiled. "Gonna have to find out… That's all I got for now." Everyone cleared out, retrieving their phones from the box. "Don't make me regret this." Sydney heard Clay sneer to Jax as she exited the chapel, smirking to herself.

"Tig! Syd!" Clay called as he exited the chapel, the Sergeant and his girlfriend stopping in their tracks and turning quickly to face their President. "Go get Darby's vehicle to transport the bodies." The couple momentarily forgot about their little game of ignoring each other to share a wicked grin.

Just as everyone was about to head out to complete their respective tasks: Tig and Sydney to fetch Darby's vehicle, and Jax, Chibs, Half-Sack and Juice to talk to Skeeter, Hale pulled his open canopy sheriff's vehicle onto the lot. Clay, Jax and Tig all exchanged a look from their respective positions on the compound, beginning to walk over to the nosey Deputy, Sydney trailing close behind - not caring that this was clearly a task to be taken on by the high ranked members.

"How you doin Jax?" Hale greeted the VP who was the first to approach. "Heard about Wendy and the baby, I'm sorry."

"Thanks. What brings you here?" Jax gave a cordial nod, remaining short with the man on the other side of the law.

"You know, I took a ride to the other side of the stream today, saw that warehouse that burned down."

"Outside your jurisdiction, aint it?" Sydney asked casually as she approached alongside Tig and Clay.

David Hale scowled, wondering who this little tart was, why she was interjecting herself in their conversation, and more importantly - why Clay was allowing her to. "I'm sorry, and you are?" He asked condescendingly, letting his authority show stronger than his shock over the fact that the young woman was an absolute dime.

"Sydney Harding, nice to meet ya." She smiled sarcastically and stuck her hand out to the man who was trying to mask his surprise, he had zoned out but managed to keep the hardass look posted on his face, not letting onto the fact that he was completely taken aback by the green eyed charmer. "C'mon Deputy, you wouldn't leave a girl hangin, would ya?" She teased when he didn't return her handshake.

Hale snapped out of it, remembering where he was and why he was there. "David Hale, sheriff's Deputy." He briefly introduced himself, shaking her hand and cutting off contact quickly to turn his attention back to Jax. "Whole area was littered with casings and gun parts. Warehouse was a weapons depot."

"No kiddin." Jax said, unamused with Hale's accusations - even if they were true.

"Chief Unser is retiring at the end of this month. I'll be stepping into those shoes. I know Unser's always had a 'look the other way' policy with the Sons of Anarchy."

"Look, I don't know what it is that you think Chief Unser is lookin the other way for. We're just mechanics and motorcycle enthusiasts." Clay replied.

"Just a friendly heads up that _I_ will not look the other way."

"We're all free men, protected by the Constitution." Sydney smirked at Jax's response. "You look any way you want, _Chief_." Hale and Jax held eye contact menacingly as they began to part ways. Tig put his hand on the small of Sydney's back as he guided her to the van protectively, glaring at the younger man - clearly the way that Hale had acted towards her was noticed by him as well.

Tig walked her around to the passenger side of the van, opening the door and gripping her waist, lifting her and placing her onto the seat without a word, seemingly forgetting about his injury that had crippled him for the better part of the day, which _of course_ had nothing to do with him being dramatic...

She flashed him a cocky grin, biting her lip in response to his dominance, the sexy look on her face only pushing him further. "Don't think I won't drag you to the back of this goddamn van..." He said in a low gowl, possibly lower and darker than she had heard thus far as she continued to push him. Her eyes widened and her pupils instantly blew out, a blush creeping up her neck.

"I knew there was a jealousy kink in there somewhere... " She teased smugly as he was about to shut the door.

Tig stopped his movements, realizing that he wasn't crazy in wondering if she had just been toying with him the whole time. He threw her door open, grabbing her out of the seat he'd just placed her in, ripping the sliding door open and shoving her inside without saying a word. His original plan on how to kill two birds with one stone wasn't going to pan out, but this one would: round up the game and blow off some steam. Sydney smirked as he tossed her into the van just as he said he would, not bothering to even try and look innocent, she was smug with herself and she wanted him to know.

"This aint me giving in easily." He informed her as he climbed into the box of the van, sliding the door shut. It was like he was reading her mind.

"Of course not." She widened her eyes and spoke with mock innocence as she looked up at him.

"You have been fucking with me all day." He growled as he fisted his hand into the back of her hair.

A small whimper escaped her lips as her head was harshly jerked back but her eyes were filled with fire as he manhandled her the way she loved. He clenched his jaw, letting go of her hair and lifting her by her hips to set her on top of the block heater, standing between her legs as he placed his hands on her thighs and licked his lips.

Sydney tried to regulate her breathing under his predatory gaze so that he wouldn't catch on to just how excited she was as she bit her lip nervously, waiting for his next move. He took his hands off of her and began unbuckling his belt, keeping his eyes trained on hers, daring her to look away. She shivered under the intimidation of his ice blue stare - no physical contact to combat the chills that his eyes gave her.

She was surprised when Tig pressed his lips to hers in a gentle, passionate kiss, melting into the familiar comfort of his arms that she knew would be short lived. Tig took advantage of the element of surprise yet again when he yanked her bottoms off in one swift tug.

A rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins as she squeaked in surprise, the rough movement pulling her back to earth after her moment of weakness. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him into her as soon as their clothing was out of the way, but her ministrations were halted by his hands prying her thighs from his hips and pinning them to the metal box she was perched on, doing the same to her hands - remembering how badly she'd wanted to touch him the night of the fair when she was handcuffed to the bed.

Without any warning, he pushed inside of her, sliding all the way home thanks to her arousal. They both reacted exactly the same: rolling their eyes back and holding their moans in the back of their throats, not wanting to give each other the satisfaction. His thrusts got harder but remained just as deep as he tried to coax the noises from her lips, but instead being met with her defiant, dark green stare.

He thrusted with more force, pushing her backwards with a hand to her throat, pinning her body against the wall behind her, slamming into her so hard that the van was shaking. She gasped when her back made contact with the cold surface, but the air was quickly knocked out of her lungs by the angry, animalistic snaps of his hips.

She continued to glare at him as she took his punishment, silently challenging him, asking if it was all he had - even if she didn't think she could take much more. She knew she couldn't hold back her screams for much longer, so she figured she would squeeze every last drop of frustration from him before letting him have the satisfaction.

Tig grimaced as the ruthless blonde challenged him with those irresistible eyes. He was the kind of guy who liked it rough and often had to hold back, but with the way that the girl who inhabited his heart took everything he had, he wasn't sure if he was even capable of giving more. He pulled out, giving her thigh a slap.

"Turn over." He ordered lazily, praying that the change in tactic would work because he was running out of ideas. She smirked when he ordered her to bend over the metal box, knowing that he was nearing his limit. "I wanna hear those pretty little sounds you make for me." He growled as he smacked her ass with one hand and the other yanked her hair back, his cock pushing into her at the same time, creating an overwhelming medley of sensations that elicited a moan deep in her throat. "That's better." He pulled her hair tighter and leaned over her, his lips making contact with the soft skin behind her ear, bottoming out inside of her and hitting that spot that he knew drove her crazy. Sydney didn't react to the deeper penetration, but it wasn't purposely this time, she was too overwhelmed by the sensation to formulate any kind of sounds.

Tig released her hair and roughly shoved her down against the metal surface when she didn't comply once again, smacking her ass harder this time. "I'm not gonna ask again." Sydney cried out, loving the way that his rough hands felt as they spread pins and needles across the plush skin of her ass. "That's it, baby." He lightened his tone and placed a gentle kiss against her shoulder before letting loose a barrage of bruising thrusts, using her shoulders for leverage as he marinated in her perfect wetness.

"Tiggy." She whined helplessly as she felt her orgasm approaching, the intense tightening in her body telling her that it was going to the best one she'd ever had.

Tig felt her walls getting tighter and tighter around his dick as he continued pounding into her, beginning to worry when the tightening didn't stop - getting much stronger than he had felt from her before, from _anyone_ before. He decided to ignore the worry that she might actually snap his dick off, and instead focus on the fact that he was about to give her a mindblowing orgasm, meaning victory for him as she came undone below him.

"I feel you baby, come on… Cum for me." He cooed in her ear, coaxing her gently, knowing that the contrast between his rough actions and sweet tone would launch her over the edge.

"Oh god!" She cried out, a feeling so strong washing over her as her release exploded between her legs. Tig's stomach dropped and his dick twitched as he felt her squirting around him, a wicked grin forming on his face. There's no way that he could've gotten _that_ lucky…

He continued fucking her, trying to hold off on his release as long as possible just to teach her a lesson but unfortunately her squirting, squealing, and pussy milking his dick was too intense for Tig, even from behind where he couldn't see her face. He pulled out of her, grabbing her wavy blonde mane and dragging her to her knees, pushing himself into her mouth and coating her tongue with his seed before he pulled her back up, wrapping one hand around her throat to tip her face up towards his, crashing his lips down to hers and pushing his tongue into her mouth before pulling away.

"Get dressed." He ordered. "No more fucking around." He added as he redressed himself.

"I told you before, I'm never done fucking around with you." She replied coyly as she went to slip back into her shorts, but was stopped when she realized her legs were covered in her own release. "Um…" She looked to Tig, pleading for help with innocent eyes and cheeks red with embarrassment.

Tig chuckled, grinning wolfishly. He reached out, placing his hands on her waist. "You never told me you were a squirter baby." He couldn't have hid the cockiness in his voice if he tried.

"You know me, always the element of surprise." She teased with an eye roll, clutching to the lapels of his kutte, needing some intimacy after the less than romantic encounter they just had. He noticed the way she was looking at his chest, knowing that she was yearning to be pressed against it.

"I love you." He said gently, resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you too." She whispered back weakly while looking deep into his eyes, exhausted from what her body just went through. He pulled her into a hug, both of them sighing in contentment and inhaling each other's scents.

"I'll go grab a towel." He kissed her on the forehead and winked before pulling away.

"Okay." She laughed at the situation as he pulled the door open, revealing Clay, Jax, Chibs, Half-Sack, and Juice all standing with raised brows.

Tig and Sydney's eyes widened as they realized that not only were they caught - but Sydney was completely naked below the waist. Tig quickly jumped in front of her, luckily she was sitting sideways, so the men hadn't gotten a _full_ peep show.

"Hey! Didn't anybody tell you girls? If the van's a rockin, don't come a knockin." Sydney snickered at Tig's rendition of the classic saying.

"Get goin." Clay winced, regretting his poorly thought out idea to pair the two together on this mission.

Tig jogged across the compound after safely shielding his naked girlfriend from the inquisitive eyes of his brothers, grabbing a blue mechanics towel off of the rack in the garage. "Spill somethin?" Gemma questioned with a raised brow from the desk in the office.

"Somethin like that." Tig grinned, winking before he took back off towards the van that Gemma expected would've been long gone by now, wincing when she realized what the crazy eyed man was referring to.


	19. Cut Off

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 19: CUT OFF**

After getting herself situated with the help of Tig, Sydney returned to the passenger seat of the van so that they could finally begin the task that they should've started much earlier.

"Think he's gonna be at the Dog?" Tig asked as he drove to the Nords' local hangout, rubbing his leg which was sore from the strain he'd put on it.

"Doubt it, but it's a good place to start." She noticed the shortness in his tone, looking over to see him brooding with his hand resting on the top of the steering wheel. "Awe come on Tiggy, I squirt for you and you're still in a bad mood? That aint any way to treat a lady." She said in a mock pout.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry doll." He chuckled. "Shit with Jax… I don't know…" He shook his head as he pondered the mindset of the VP. "That's the kind of thinking that landed his old man where it did…"

"Clay's been trying to nail him down but it only pushes him further away." She observed. "What does Gemma think?" She was curious if the Queen had been privy to the rebellion of her son, or if she had picked up on it herself.

"Don't know, her and Clay doin an awful lot of whispering though…" Sydney just nodded slowly in response, making a mental note to talk to Gemma about it when she had the chance.

As soon as they turned onto the street where The Hairy Dog took residence, they saw Darby's dark Suburban pulling away from the curb. Tig looked to Sydney for confirmation that they were to follow him.

"He's alone, this is just what we needed." She grinned evilly, sparking up a cigarette as they tailed Darby to a park in Oakland, exchanging glances with each other as they knew what this meant: _Mayans. _"This skinhead fuckwad really just doesn't fucking get it does he?" Sydney barked in disbelief that after blowing up their warehouse _and _ambushing their hand off, the men still thought it was a good idea to team up.

"Park around the other side." She ordered Tig who raised an eyebrow but obliged, changing his course from parking behind Darby's SUV, to rounding the side of the park where they stopped and watched the bald man walk towards a picnic table where none other than Marcus Alvarez was sitting. "He looks pissed." Sydney snickered when Darby sat down and shoved away the box of food that Alvarez offered him.

"You blame him?" Tig asked with a raised brow. They watched the two men in their heated discussion for a few minutes, taking turns trying to guess what it was that they were saying until Sydney abruptly sat up and made for the door. "What the hell are you-"

"Get the car." She cut him off.

"Syd!" She slammed the door, silencing his protests before she bounded off towards the two men. "God dammit." Tig growled in defeat as he was forced to obey her request, not in any shape to go after her or cause a scene.

"Well I'll be! If you told me this morning that I woulda been lucky enough to see two of my favorite men in the same place, sportin my pretty little marks, I woulda said you were lyin." Sydney taunted in a southern accent as she approached, hopping up on top of the picnic table as the brooding men stared at her with wide eyes.

"Is everything you do so goddamn dramatic?" Darby shook his head, almost finding humour in the continuously surprising actions of the little tart.

"I guess you'll just have to find out." She cooed with a cocky grin.

"You know this blanca?" A scuffed up Alvarez asked with a smirk, recognizing the voice of the woman who was a brunette a few days ago when she infiltrated their hand off. Even if the little puta had pissed him off, the Mayans President was smart enough to respect the game - he could appreciate a good soldier when he saw one.

"Yeah she's just one of SAMCRO's whor-" Darby stopped himself under her narrowing eyes, silently reminding him what had taken place the last time he treated her like a croweater. "One of SAMCRO's associates." He corrected himself with a sarcastic smile.

"And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks." She praised smugly. "You boys are brave, meetin out here in public, not a care in the world that it might give people the wrong idea…"

"Oh yeah? And what idea might that be?" Alvarez asked with squinted eyes.

She pursed her lips and gave a one shouldered shrug. "I don't know. Maybe that the Nords aren't... _Maintaining _the brand." She responded after a pause, letting them know that her answer was facetious, flashing a grin at her choice of words.

Alvarez smiled smugly at the clever young woman, turning his attention back to the man across the table. "Don't worry, we'll both get what we want." He told Darby cryptically, who responded with a snort - clearly unhappy with the result of the meeting.

"You gonna eat that?" Sydney nodded to the tamale that Darby declined. The Nord's leader just scoffed in response, getting up from the table. She shrugged again, reaching to grab the mexican delicacy.

"Careful, shit's too spicy for a blanca." Alvarez warned.

"Creo que estoy bien." She responded with a wink before taking a bite as she turned away and headed off towards the van, leaving the latino man chuckling in surprise. Her lips curled up when she noticed Darby standing on the opposite edge of the park, scratching his head as he searched the area for his missing vehicle, groaning in realization when he turned to see the smirk of the young woman climbing into the van.

"You are runnin a _seriously _risky game." Tig grimaced as he scolded Sydney once they arrived back at the compound.

"Did we get the car?" She asked simply.

"Well, yeah but-"

"Did he see you?"

"No-"

"There ya go." She cocked her head and patted him on the chest before strutting into the clubhouse. Tig pursed his lips when he realized that her tactic the whole time was to hide in plain sight, keep Darby's eyes busy while simultaneously sending the message that SAMCRO was behind the auto theft.

"The Suburban has landed." Sydney cooed playfully, tossing Clay the keys to the black vehicle, who caught them with a grin.

"Got a protection run tonight for Unser, Hap's on his way back up to Tacoma for more glocks." The white haired man informed before turning his attention back to Sydney. "Which one d'you want?"

"Preference?" She tried to keep her tone casual in an attempt to show that she would be wherever he wanted her, even if she was delighted to have been given the choice.

"Lady's choice." He grinned playfully.

"I'll take the cadavers." She winked.

"What I thought you'd say, need someone to make sure this is done right." The older man smiled knowingly at his younger counterpart. "They're over at Skeeter's, you can take the hearse down." He smirked at his own joke. Sydney nodded before making off to Tig's dorm to retrieve her leather jacket. "Ope asked to be put on the protection run... " Clay told Tig quietly once the two men were alone.

"Tryna make up for the Mayan fuck up?"

"Nah, think he's just strapped for cash."

"You gonna let him?" Tig scowled, he was a simple man: if someone didn't care for the good of the club and wasn't willing to put their ass on the line, then they shouldn't be allowed to share from the pot.

"I'm gonna give him another chance to prove his loyalty." Clay defended, detecting the doubt in the Sergeant's tone.

Sydney bit her lip in contemplation as she stood with her back pressed to the wooden wall in the hallway, hearing every word. She didn't think Opie was a bad guy, and though she couldn't sympathize with his disconnect from the club - she could empathize. However, empathy did not trump the dangers that a rogue member caused.

Tig stayed silent on the matter, he didn't agree with his President but his job wasn't to agree, it was to obey. "Darby was with Alvarez when we jacked the car."

"What's it gonna take for this prick to get the damn message." Clay sighed.

"It's a bloody Sunday brother. We gotta call in all the Sons, all of em. Kill this cracker-wetback alliance now." Tig's anger started poking through.

"We can't afford another war like '92." Clay reminded him of the bloodbath that took place years ago.

"We might not have a choice. Clay I'm worried about this, okay. Jax is smart and I appreciate his lead on a lot of stuff, but where we gotta go… It aint about bein smart, it's about killin shit." The curly haired man voiced his concerns with his President as his need for blood boiled.

"I know." Clay said regrettably, unsure what the right move was but knowing what needed to be done.

"No, I mean…" Tig shook his head. "I don't trust him. Look… Push comes to blood? I don't. I don't think he's got the balls to pull the trigger, you hear what I'm sayin?" He pushed harder, the time for dicking around with Jax's soft approach was running out, and he worried that it was going to get someone hurt.

"I hear ya!" Clay yelled out of frustration. "I hear ya…" He repeated a little calmer. Once again, Tig wasn't the problem - the situation was. "Look, ya think I don't see the same shit? I do brother, I do." He trailed off when he heard the sound of Sydney's sneakers on the wooden floor, glad that she emerged at that moment to temporarily table the tough discussion.

Sydney pulled up to the cemetery in Darby's SUV, getting out and making her way through the maze of tombstones until she spotted Chibs, Juice and Jax jumping down into a hole. She crept up quietly, hearing them making fun of Half-Sack who had been tasked with digging up the body of the fat mexican all by himself.

"I hate this shit, it's really bad karma you know… Digging up a grave." Juice laughed, clapping the poor kid on the shoulder, likely a little too happy to be seeing someone else doing the prospect bitch work that he'd been saddled with not too long ago.

"Nah, as long as it's not your grave, karma's just fine." Jax laughed.

"_What_ the hell do you think you're doing?" Sydney yelled, unleashing just how impossibly loud she could make her voice go.

"Woah!" Half-Sack yelled, all of the startled men whipped around to see Sydney standing there cackling. "You scared the piss outta me."

"Sorry Kippy. Havin fun?"

"Not as much fun as you had earlier." An impressed grin spread across Sydney's face, surprised at the boldness of the prospect.

"How we gonna get him out?" Juice changed the subject before someone could make a comment that Sydney would make them regret.

"I think we're gonna need a tow truck." She joked.

The late hours of the afternoon were coming to a close as Jax, Sydney and Chibs drove down the 99 to Lodi in Darby's Suburban with the bodies in tow, Juice and Half-Sack following close behind in a stolen Cadillac. Jax lit a joint from the driver's seat as Chibs took a swig of beer beside him, Sydney choosing to sit in the back with the cargo.

"Jesus christ these guys stink." Jax groaned as he inhaled the weed. Sydney rolled her eyes, unimpressed by the blonde man, as usual.

"We'll leave Darby some good, dead, mexican stench." Chibs began to laugh but was stopped as two loud import vehicles swerved around them, cutting them off and making Jax veer off into the barrier to avoid them.

"Woah!" Sydney tried to steady herself from taking a backwards tumble into the pile of limbs. "Jackson!" She yelled, even if he _had_ been narrowly cut off, she found the intense swerve that resulted in a scrape to the vehicle, to be unnecessary.

"Assholes! Made me spill my beer!" Chibs hollored to no one in particular.

"Don't blame me! Blame Honda Civic cocksucker." Sydney relented, at least they were on the same page about import drivers.

Not too long after recovering from the near hit and run, a cop car came into sights, travelling towards them in the oncoming lane.

"Ah shit…" Jax groaned as the squad car lit up and pulled a u-turn.

"Ah shit." Half-Sack unknowingly repeated his Vice President as they watched the scene unfold.

"Spotted the smashed front end." Jax surmised while Sydney sat with her head in her hands and her eyes wide in sheer shock for just how stupid they were.

"They run those bogus plates and we're fucked." She informed as Jax pulled over. "This could've been fucking avoided if you knew how to fucking drive!" The Scotsman turned to defend his VP but was stopped by the fiery woman smacking his shoulder. "And you! Drinking in the front seat." She turned her attention back to Jax. "You're fucking smoking up. No wonder they're stopping us for vehicle damage!" Chibs ignored her bitching, pulling out his glock as the cop approached.

"Lodi's got a sky team… We'll never get away, not in this piece of shit."

"Definitely not with his driving." Sydney added.

"Put the gun away." Jax ordered in frustration for his brother's impulsive solution to the problem. "Sup?" He greeted the hispanic cop with a nod. Before the lawman could even tell him why he had been stopped, he was startled by Juice and Half-Sack ramming his squad car with the Cadillac.

"Jesus christ!" His attention turned to the younger men as he backtracked with his gun drawn.

Sydney grinned as she watched the scene unfold: Juice and Half-Sack getting out and running down the road, Jax and Chibs getting out to slash the cops tires and steal his radio. Sydney kicked the door of the trunk open before quickly sliding into the driver's seat, throwing the vehicle into drive and pulling a violent u-turn to retrieve her compromised crew. She came to a screech, letting Jax and Chibs in before she raced to get ahead of Juice and Half-Sack so that they could make the jump before the cop started shooting.

"Run prospect run!" Chibs hollered out the window as they passed the spriting men.

"Get in!" Sydney yelled, smacking the door of the vehicle in a rush of adrenaline.

Juice and Half-Sack made the jump at the same time, flopping down onto the landing pad of dead mexicans. The carload of criminals whooped and hollered as they made their breakaway from the armed cop, taking a backroad and soon reaching their destination in Lodi.

When they arrived at the abandoned car garage, everyone jumped out and began staging the scene, Sydney sat on the tailgate of the vehicle, carefully uncovering the bodies. She quietly admired the face of the thinner man who had unfortunately met his demise so young, extending her arm to gently caress his cheek, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

"Jesus christ… You and Tig really _are_ meant for each other." Juice winced as he watched the scene before him.

Not too long later, the sun had set and the deed had been done, the clear message of "M + N = blood" being left at the crime scene. Sydney still thought that a _real_ murder would've been more satisfying, but she supposed the warm up would suffice.

They made their way back to Charming in another stolen vehicle - seeing that their original stolen Cadillac had been compromised - when the same Honda Civic from earlier in the day, whirled passed them yet again. Sydney grinned wickedly. _She_ was in the driver's seat now, and _nobody_ cut her off.

"It has been a _very_ long day Lass…" Chibs tried to reason, knowing what was going through her mind the second that the red car was sight.

"Ah come on." Jax grinned, wanting revenge just as much as she did.

"We didn't jack a twin turbo for nothin." Sydney smirked as she slammed her foot to the floor, engaging the turbo boost of the newer model Ford. The heavy truck pulled around the puny import with ease. "Hold on." Sydney grinned, grabbing the handle above the door as she slammed on the brakes, bringing the whizzing red car crashing into the back of the truck, the lowered front end wedging itself under the tailgate and breaking the windshield.

"Well that was quick!" Juice said happily, knowing his brothers were tired.

"I aint done yet." Sydney snarled dangerously as she stared distantly into the rearview mirror, letting the rage take over as she unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted the truck into park. A smirk ghosted across Jax's face as he followed her lead, seeing this as a much needed opportunity to blow off some steam - one that didn't end in someone dead. The two blondes strutted cockily towards the damaged vehicle with the same pep in their step and smirks on their faces, radiating their respective roles as reaper Prince and Princess.

"Get him out." Sydney looked to Jax who nodded, grabbing the douchebag by the scruff of the neck and dragging him before her.

"Hey what the hell is wrong with you!" The brown haired driver started yelling deliriously before he was cut off by a jaw shattering right hook, knocking him straight to the ground.

"Holy shit." Jax blinked, widening his eyes at the velocity of Sydney's punch.

The small woman smirked playfully, wiggling her fingers which bore her now blood-covered diamond rings. "I keep telling you not to underestimate me." She cocked a brow as the man groaned, rolling around on the pavement as he regained his bearings just in time for her to climb on top of him, holding him down with a hand to his throat. "Don't ever cut me off again." She sneered low before delivering another blow, filling the man's mouth with blood.

"Your turn." She smirked to Jax who kicked the man hard in the stomach and delivered a punch that shattered his other jaw before waltzing back to the truck with his arm slung over Sydney's shoulders as they both smiled smugly, proud of their handy work.

"Quick enough?" Sydney quipped as they re-entered the vehicle to their posse of grinning men who had clearly enjoyed the show.

They made it back to Charming without a hitch, all heading their separate ways for the night. Sydney had noticed the lack of Harleys on the compound when they returned to grab their rides, surprised that the others weren't back from the protection run yet but figuring it was just longer than she'd expected and would likely be a late one for them, so she headed home, assuming that she would hear from Tig in the morning.

When she got home, she stripped down for a hot shower, removing her rings and placing them to soak in a bowl of hot water, loosening up the crusted blood that coated the diamonds. After her shower, she sat down at the dining room table with her fuzzy slipper clad feet up, a plate of stir fry, and the bowl containing her rings - lazily picking at her food and buffing the grime from her diamonds when the roaring of a Harley engine pulled her from the state of relaxation she had fallen into, her senses perked up but she made no effort to get up for the door, having a feeling that the mysterious visitor likely had a key.

Tig hobbled up to Sydney's front door after a long evening of running the hijacking-turned-protection run for Unser. He stuck the key in the lock, turning it until it clicked open, second guessing himself a second too late when he stepped inside, realizing that maybe she wouldn't want to be seeing so much of him, or at the very least that he should've called, he contemplated turning around, thinking she might not have heard him so he still had a chance to make a break for it.

"Tiggy?" The soft, hopeful voice erased any doubt that he had as it pulled him through the house to it's source.

"Better be me, doll." He masked his moment of uncertainty with a cocky joke, winking when he saw her.

"I was hoping it was my _other_ boyfriend." She smiled as he approached her, gently brushing his fingers around her waist and leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. He couldn't help but break his tough guy facade with a smile after he pulled away and met her sparkling eyes which were staring up at him lovingly. "There's food if you're hungry." She said softly, nodding to the pan on the stove.

"You sure, baby?"

"Mhmm." She hummed as her attention returned to her previous task.

"What're ya doin?" He tilted his head to try and get a better look into the bowl.

"Why don't you go get some food and I'll tell you." Her tone was playful as she kept her eyes focused on what she was doing, not entertaining his dawdling.

Tig snickered at how stubborn she was, grabbing a plate from the cupboard and dishing up a generous helping. Between the day's diet of whiskey, peanuts, and club business - he'd worked up quite an appetite. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed back to the table, setting his plate down and sliding his chair right up against hers, picking up her propped up legs and placing them on his lap. Sydney giggled at his actions, sighing in content as his hand lazily caressed her shins while he ate and she cleaned. Tig found himself with a permanent smile as the pair sat in a comfortable silence despite the trying day, he never thought he would see the day where he would be coming home to an old lady, dinner on the table, and no questions being asked.

He tapped her knee before he moved her legs so that he could get up, picking up the empty plates and carrying them to the sink to wash before she could protest.

"You and Jax finally get into it?" He asked with a sly smirk as he placed another beer on the table, and a glass of wine for her. He assumed the blood on her rings was a result of staging the scene, but he knew the joke would get a laugh _and _possibly open the door for her to voice her concerns about the VP.

"I wish." She scoffed. "Asshole cut me off." She informed with a bashful smirk. The Sergeant raised an eyebrow when he realized that the blood was _actually_ a result of her hitting someone, but he didn't question any further, retaking his seat and yanking her into his lap. She giggled as he nuzzled her neck. "Long night?" She knew he must be tired if he was acting so touch starved.

"You got no idea."

"Thought it was just a protection run?" She turned to face him with a scowl.

"Was supposed to be. Turned into a hijacking, try to teach Unser a lesson."

"Really?" She exclaimed excitedly as her eyes lit up, her giddiness soon turning to a pout. "And I got stuck with the boring fake murder with the band of pussies."

"Hey hey hey, it seems like you had plenty enough fun tonight, Pussycat." He stroked the bare knuckles, reminding her of the killer punches she'd gotten in on the buzzcut asshole driving the Honda.

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes, returning to her rings. "How'd Ope do?" Tig raised a brow in response to her somehow knowing that Opie had been on the job, as well as the fact that it was cause for concern.

"Fine, I guess." He shrugged when she didn't give an explanation. "Didn't know what was going down, didn't seem as giddy about it as you did." Sydney nodded, wondering if the tall, bearded man would become an issue for the club.

Tig took her silence as a sign that maybe he had overstayed his welcome as his insecurities creeped in, especially after showing up unannounced while she was so focused on the task at hand.

"Well." He patted her thigh, exhaling before heaving himself out of the chair that they were occupying. "Thanks for dinner, Doll." He kissed her on the cheek as he guided her to sit back down in the chair alone.

"Are you leaving?" Her face fell when he ended the peaceful moment they'd been sharing, instinctively clutching onto his arm when he stood - making her immediately curse herself for sounding so needy.

"Not if you don't want me to." He grinned when once again, she abolished his fears.

"Stay." She nodded with a sincere smile.

"You aint gotta tell me twice." He returned her warm smile. "Can I use your shower?" She nodded.

"You might wanna get some shit for here, unless of course you like smelling like me." She referred to the flowery body wash he would have to use.

"It's one way to keep the croweaters off." He winked, kissing her on the cheek before heading upstairs to bathe.

Sydney smiled happily once she was alone as she heard the peaceful hum of the water running upstairs. She'd always enjoyed being alone - never thought she would like sharing her space with someone so often, that was one of the nice things about Happy being gone so often. But she loved having Tig around to fill the silence, her house didn't feel as cold and empty when he was there, it felt warm - it felt like home.

She followed him up the stairs not long after, it was late and she was exhausted. She padded into the bedroom, contemplating joining him in the shower - craving some closeness, but she knew she would get plenty of that once he came to bed, so she crawled under the covers and quickly dozed off.

Tig stumbled out of the bathroom after a much needed, hot shower. Steam billowed out of the room after him once he opened the door, rubbing his hands over his face to try and gain his bearings, he was exhausted and the hot water had only intensified the doziness. He'd managed to change into clean boxers before sauntering over to the bed where Sydney was already sleeping. He smiled lazily before flopping down onto the mattress and heaving a heavy sigh, reaching to turn off the lamp before pulling her into his arms.

"Love you." Sydney mumbled, recognizing the feeling of being pressed against his chest in her barely conscious state.

"Love you too, baby." He pressed a kiss to her forehead but didn't pull away, falling asleep in the comfort of the close proximity.

Tig was rustled awake by Sydney pulling herself out of his grip. He whimpered, immediately missing the warmth of the contact even in his sleep. "Shhh." She hushed, noticing him stirring as a result of her movement. "Keep sleeping." She whispered, kissing just below his ear before slipping out of bed, into one of his t-shirts, and down the stairs to start on breakfast.

Tig laid half asleep happily for the next half an hour, completely at peace until he decided it was time to get up for the day, surely the smell of food had nothing to do with it… He got dressed for the day, brushed his teeth and applied some cologne before pulling his kutte over his shoulders and making his way to the kitchen. He stopped at the landing of the stairs to inhale the heavenly smell of whatever his girlfriend was cooking, continuing his walk down the hallway with a smile on his face. He entered the kitchen to a similar sight he had seen before: Sydney humming and spinning around in one of his shirts and a pair of panties. He stayed in place, watching her movements as he absently palmed himself over his jeans.

Sydney smiled, knowing Tig was watching her when the scent of his cologne wafter into the kitchen, overpowering the smell of the food. "Morning." She twirled around with two bowls in hand, her eyes were bright and she had a huge smile on her face which went from genuine to discerning as her eyes fell to where his hand rested on his belt buckle, raising a brow.

"What?" He grinned wolfishly, a glint in his bright eyes as he moved towards her, gripping her waist. "You know how I feel about this view." He turned her around slowly so that he could get a good look at her ass.

She went along with his early morning sex drive, setting the bowls down and bending right over the table, moaning for effect. She wasn't surprised when his hands roamed over her ass appreciatively, using the distraction to her advantage, she hooked one foot behind his, swiftly knocking him off balance and into a chair before sitting on his lap.

"Eat." She ordered, pecking his lips.

Tig chuckled, a little winded from the sneak attack as she moved into her own chair. "You gonna keep slipping vegetables into my diet?" He poked the green peppers that she'd incorporated into the hearty breakfast scramble, with his fork. The Redwood Sergeant was not a 'follow the food groups' type of guy by any means and he'd noticed Sydney trying to sneak more green foods under his nose and into his mouth.

"Yep, and you're gonna keep liking it." She deadpanned while scrolling through her phone.

He responded with a bashful smile that he was glad she didn't notice, taking a bite of the food, his eyes rolling back as soon as the taste flooded his mouth.

"Damn." Sydney chuckled as she peered at him through her eyelashes. "I don't even think you look like that when you eat my pussy."

"Pussy's a strong contender but..." He shook his head, shovelling more food in his mouth - veggies included.

Once breakfast was finished, they headed to the clubhouse for church before work. Sydney opted to ride bitch, something that surprised her - even now that she could freely ride her own bike and was no longer condemned to the bitch bar, she still enjoyed it with him. The pair walked into the clubhouse hand in hand, going straight to the chapel and receiving an approving smile from Gemma along the way.

"If you told me that protection was gonna be that fun…" Sydney shook her head at Clay who sat at the head of the table.

"Well I had it in the works but I wasn't sure til I got the call…"

"You know, I coulda made it for both." Clay chuckled at her eagerness.

"Yeah, I'm sure you could've. But then who would've given that asshole a proper beatdown?"

She flashed a cocky smile in response to his argument, feeling a little too smug over the fact that the news of her night's events had travelled.

"Unser aint gonna be stepping down for another six months." Clay announced with a victory grin once everyone was seated. Sydney smiled wickedly while everyone hollered at the news that their plan had worked, but concern creeped back into her mind when she looked over to see Opie looking less than pleased. Her and Tig shared a quick glance, silently expressing their skeptical feelings about the family man's loyalty.

"Now that we got that forensics unit off our ass, we need to flush those warehouse bones, get rid of any evidence. Bobby, Tig." Clay appointed the task, looking to Sydney to gauge her reaction on being included in the clean up, he knew her expertise would be useful but he had a feeling…

"Nope." She scoffed with a shake of her head. She had no issue doing the dirty work, but she wasn't about to spend her day cleaning up their mess in the hot July sun because they had been too stupid to do so in the first place

"That's what I thought." The President nodded with a chuckle, wrapping up the session so that everyone could get back to work for the day - minus Tig and Bobby who took off towards the warehouse in the van with an arsenal of bleach.

"Hey, I gotta run to the grocery store for the cookout tomorrow, I could use the extra hands." Gemma nodded to Sydney across the office as she removed her glasses - she'd had enough paperwork for the day since the afternoon had rolled around.

"Sure." The younger women obliged with a smiled. "I can only imagine what shopping for a meal that size is like..." She chortled, remembering how shopping solely for the San Bern. crew had been a _task._

"You got that right, and the prospect aint much help around a grocery store."

"I got you, Gem." Sydney winked, heading out to the parking lot. The matriarch chuckled happily at her readiness to help, shutting down the computer and gathering her things to head out for the afternoon.

As soon as Sydney's mule clad feet hit the pavement, she noticed David Hale pulling into the lot - undoubtedly coming to grill them about the delay in his impending status as Chief. Jax and Clay walked side by side, exchanging a glance but choosing to ignore the bothered Deputy as they strolled right past his truck and towards the garage. Sydney wasn't about to miss out on the interrogation - letting her feet carry her to where her superiors were standing.

"Unser's not retiring… What'd you do? Threaten to rape his daughter?" The blue eyed man surmised casually as he exited his vehicle. Sydney couldn't help but snort at his facetious assumption - even if it wasn't at all facetious.

The three light haired degenerates turned around at the same time with the same amused look on their faces. "That's a little harsh." Clay smirked.

"It was bind and torture, give us a little credit Davy." Sydney mock pouted, making Jax chuckle.

"Maybe the old man's not ready for the gold watch."

"I just got back from that warehouse… There _was_ a testable crime scene before my guys got pulled off - whole thing is contaminated now."

"You should talk to your supervision about that." Jax squinted in the sun, pulling his pack of cigarettes from the front pocket of his TM shirt.

"You guys." Hale scoffed. "Cruise around here like heros, when you and I know the truth."

"And what truth is that?"

"You white trash thugs are holding onto a dying dream."

"Same could be said about the white collared ones." Sydney responded smugly to his ironic statement.

"That is so poetic Chief. Oh! I'm sorry, I guess it's just Deputy Chief… Right?" Clay grinned while he taunted the younger man.

"It doesn't matter if I'm Chief or not… You can't stop progress."

Sydney laughed at the smugness of the blue eyed cop. "That's why you're standing here, right? Questioning us about a contaminated scene and a stunt in your career?" She approached the Deputy, getting uncomfortably close. "It seems that progress has already been stopped." She said in a low, raspy tone, cocking a brow.

"It won't be long before SAMCRO is just an ugly memory in the history of Charming." Hale responded with a sneer, his attention mainly on Jax and Clay before he turned back to the blonde woman in front of him. "Enjoy the ride, while you still can."

"Enjoying the ride's what I do best." She winked as Hale backed away where he spit on the ground next to the bikes. Clay and Jax shared a smile of amusement, both thoroughly enjoying that Sydney did the tormenting that they couldn't do.

"They did it just in time." The President observed, referring to Tig and Bobby having successfully finished the clean up without getting caught.

"Yep…" Jax said with a trace of worry in his tone over the close call.

Sydney and Gemma headed towards the checkout at the Charming Grocer after an afternoon full of shopping to stock the clubhouse kitchen. Gemma was thrilled to have a helping hand that she actually enjoyed talking to - not like the usual croweaters.

" ? I'm sorry we can't take your cheques anymore… The last two bounced." A voice in the distance caught the attention of the SAMCRO women, turning to see Opie's wife uncomfortably putting back half of the groceries that she couldn't afford.

"That's sad." Sydney genuinely felt for the woman that she knew little about. Regardless of how she felt over Donna's disapproval of the club, and her husband's involvement in it, she hated to see someone struggling when they were trying their damndest - and being humiliated for it nonetheless.

"Yeah… You handle this?" Gemma's question was more of a statement as she pursed her lips, walking over to the till where the younger woman's leftover groceries were.

Sydney knew that Gemma's gesture was for anything but good faith - it was a power move, and she was living for it. She smirked, allowing Gemma to follow Donna out of the store before leaving the job with the cashier, trailing close behind. When she got outside, she saw Gemma holding out the bag of groceries to Opie's old lady who wasn't nearly as grateful as Sydney would've expected a struggling mother to be.

"Opie's out now, we don't need any more charity." Sydney listened to the argument, trying to decide if she admired Donna's dignity and strong will, or found her stubbornness to be disrespectful and stupid.

"It was never charity Donna, it's what we do. You're family." Gemma held the bag out again. Instead of accepting, Donna stepped closer, daring to challenge Gemma Teller in the middle of a good deed - even if it was just an act of manipulation.

"I have my family back, I don't need yours." Sydney quickly decided on the latter.

"Look." Gemma set the bag down to the ground after a pause of sheer dumbfoundedness. "I know what you went through. I've been there - with two husbands." Donna scoffed and rolled her eyes, Sydney couldn't believe the set of balls on this woman to think she could openly disrespect the old lady of her husband's President, she _clearly_ didn't understand the life... Sydney narrowed her eyes and leant against the old truck that she recognized from the night that they torched the Mayan warehouse - the truck that Tig and her fucked in, which she couldn't help but smirk at.

"You lose your man, your kids lose their dad. You get pissed off, wanna blame the club, but SAMCRO is not the enemy, it's the glue, the one thing that will always be there to pull you through the ugly shit. Gotta stop fightin this Donna, you need us." Sydney admired Gemma even more in this moment, showing exactly what a good old lady is made of: knows how to get her way but also sets her own feelings aside for the good of the club. Sydney would've kicked the girl to the curb a long time ago for disrespecting her and the club, if she was in Gemma's shoes.

"I married Opie, I didn't marry the club." Donna's anger was starting to get the best of her as her voice shook with the threat of tears.

"You married a man in an M.C., you knew what you were signing up for." Sydney stepped forward, making her presence known when she couldn't help herself from butting in.

Donna scrunched up her face, the anger seething from her as the little tramp posing against her vehicle interrupted the already unwanted conversation with the matriarch.

"Who the hell are you?" She spit angrily.

"That seems to be the question of the week." Sydney chuckled. "Sydney Harding." She made no effort to initiate a handshake with the angry woman.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing telling me about my marriage."

"Just reminding you of the facts, sweetheart." Sydney pushed off of the truck and stood tall next to Gemma. Donna stood uncomfortably for a few seconds before regaining her composure under the stares of the intimidating women.

"Neither of you have any idea what I need." She rolled her shoulders back and turned to get into the truck.

"Donna." Gemma followed after her. "We're having a little family get together tomorrow for the Fourth. You and Ope should come - bring the kids, you might actually have a good time." Donna shook her head incredulously at Gemma's determination, opening her mouth to protest. "Don't say anything else." Gemma held her hand up. "My Martha Stewart's wearin real thin… You know where we live." She had a slight look of smugness on her face as she turned to Sydney and walked with her back into the store.

"Wanna share some of that Martha Stewart with me?" Sydney joked light-heartedly even though witnessing the exchange had made her question her abilities as a potential old lady.

When the two women reached the till where their groceries should've been, they found it to be empty. They both furrowed their brows in confusion before being led outside by the starry-eyed teenage store clerk that Sydney had allowed to chat her up while she checked out, presenting Gemma's caddy tightly packed with all their purchases.

"Thanks Daniel, you're a peach." Sydney smiled and caressed his cheek, figuring she would give the poor kid _something_ for his 'above and beyond' efforts to impress her.

"Looks like you got enough of it on your own." Gemma scoffed with a smirk.

Sydney couldn't shake the nagging pit she felt in her stomach for the rest of the day while she sat at her desk, knee bouncing in anticipation for quitting time to roll around. When 6:00 P.M. finally came, she quickly gathered her things and scurried out of the office, leaving a very concerned Gemma in her wake. She scanned the compound for Half-Sack, hoping to avoid Tig - knowing he would ask questions when he found out she wasn't asking him for a ride home. She knew it would only come up in the morning, but she would rather come up with an excuse later, than now. She managed to make it across the lot and into the clubhouse, spotting Half-Sack coming down the hallway.

"Kip!" The poor kid looked up, terrified, wondering what he'd done wrong now. "Can you take me home?"

"Yeah." He was relieved that her inquiry was harmless, but wasn't sure why she was asking him, when Tig was just lazing around his dorm. "Tig busy?"

"Yeah. Let's go." She grabbed his arm, yanking him towards the tow truck.

"Jesus christ." He muttered in her grip as she dragged him out the door like a ragdoll.

They drove the short distance to Sydney's house in silence, pulling into her driveway and parking. "Thank you." She said quickly before getting out and shuffling to her front door.

Half-Sack sat frozen for a few minutes - he didn't take Sydney to be much of a talker when it came to feelings, but she was his friend and she was clearly unsettled by something and he couldn't figure out what it could possibly be.

Sydney was sitting on her stairs with her head in her hands, trying to focus on her breathing and rationalize the out of character panic she was feeling over something so minuscule, when she was interrupted by a light knocking at her front door.

"Syd? Uh, it's me, Kip." She got up quickly and opened the door before he could utter whatever apology he'd rehearsed for disturbing her. He was surprised when she opened the door so quickly, but even more surprised when she didn't say anything, just turned around to retake her spot on the stairs. "I'm a good listener, you know… If you want to talk." He awkwardly tried to comfort her.

Sydney smiled, genuinely appreciating the sweet man. "I just…" She stopped, realizing what she was doing, shaking her head and ridding herself of _one_ of her weak moments today. "Don't let the club turn you into an asshole, okay?" She looked at him sincerely before wrapping her arms around him.

Half-Sack nearly passed out when she brought him in for a hug, coughing a few times to catch his breath, finally able to form words once she pulled away. "Did um, did Tig do something?"

"Nah." She smiled half heartedly. "Shockingly." She tried to lighten the situation with humour. "Um, could you keep this between us though?" She decided that was the most vulnerability that she was willing to show for now.

The compassionate man smiled and nodded eagerly, excited that he was being trusted with a secret from the fearless blonde. He took his leave, heading back to the clubhouse - wishing all of his errands could be like that one.

Sydney could feel the panic attack taking shape - the anger over her inability to control her emotions making it even worse. She splashed some water on her face and continued trying to control her breathing but nothing was working, the very real possibility that she would actually have to talk this out was starting to hit her. The girl wasn't a stonewall, she had talked to her dad about everything - but now that he was gone she was starting to realize just how few people she trusted with her emotions, and how much harder it was to open up, hence the bottling up of her feelings that she'd started doing since he died. She finally gave in, calling the one person she trusted…

Happy pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket as he sat on his bike at the gas station just outside Charming borders, his brows furrowing when he saw it was Sydney calling. Phone calls from her weren't unusual, but he had just spoken to Clay and there was nothing going on tonight - meaning that the call was personal.

"Are you back from Tacoma?" Sydney asked the second that the phone stopped ringing, giving him no time to greet her - not that he would have.

"Just got in."

"Can we go for a ride."

"Been riding all day." Happy had spent the day under the blistering summer sun - all he was interested in was a shower, a good meal, and a warm body for the night.

"Please." She kept the conversation short, hoping the finality in her tone would be enough for him to know that she needed him.

"What happened?" He felt his heart rate pick up as the concern for her overtook him.

"I'll see you soon." She hung up with a playful tone, knowing that she'd succeeded in getting her way - leaving the Tacoma Killer rolling his eyes and taking off towards her house.

When Half-Sack arrived back at TM with the truck, he was surprised to see Gemma summoning him into the office. "Hi Gem." He tried to act casual, leaning against the doorway.

"What's wrong with Sydney?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be getting fresh with me, prospect. Either cut the shit, or get better at piling it on."

Half-Sack gulped, the woman was all business and was just as scary as her old man. "She wouldn't tell me but she's real uncomfortable about somethin, she asked me to keep it between us so… If you could you know, like not tell her I told you."

Gemma pursed her lips, deciding to accept the prospect's answer. "Thank you, Eddie." She dismissed him with an approving smile, hastily getting up and going on a search for Tig the second that the younger man was gone. She searched the compound high and low, rolling her eyes when she found that he'd clocked out early. _Of course he had. _She reached his dorm, rapping on the wood obnoxiously, not stopping until the door flew open.

"What?" He groaned, stepping out of the way to let the matriarch into his dorm.

"What'd you do to piss off Sydney?"

"What d'ya mean?" He crinkled his brows, his tone had more concern than frustration which Gemma knew wouldn't have been the case in response to her prying into his shit if he actually had done something.

"I don't know! She ran outta here after work." Tig had been napping after he'd ducked out of the garage undetected and hadn't realized it was so late or that Sydney had even left - wondering why she hadn't come to him for a ride home.

"I'm sure she's fine Gem, off plotting some shit like usual." He tried to be rational. He hadn't seen her since this morning so there was surely nothing he could've done to piss her off while he was sleeping… Right?

"Guess we'll find out." Gemma scoffed, unhappy with the result of her interrogation as it seemed that the little blonde was just as good at keeping secrets as she was.

Sydney opened her garage and fired up her Ninja as soon as she heard Happy pulling up outside, rolling down the driveway and taking off without a word, letting him know that they would be talking after she took out some of her frustrations on the open road. Happy shook his head but followed in content - it's not like talking was his strong suit anyways.

After forty-five minutes of speeding down the highway into the sunset, Sydney veered off the road as they approached an ice cream parlour that overlooked the San Joaquin River. Happy snorted into the wind, _of course she was stopping for ice cream._

She took off her helmet and shook out her hair, the open road had done wonders for the panic that she was feeling over the situation, now what she felt was pure adrenaline. Happy followed her lead, taking off his helmet and sunglasses and following her into the tiny shop, surprised to find himself growing more and more impatient with her silence - wishing that she was just a little less like him.

Once they ordered their treats and got to the till to pay, Sydney looked to Happy with that damn mischievous glint in her eyes and grin on her face.

"I aint paying." He shook his head.

"Yes you are."

"The fuck I am." He scoffed with a scowl and an upturned lip.

"Sir, is there a problem?" The judgmental cashier looked at the biker, unimpressed.

"Keep the change." He grunted, slamming a ten dollar bill down on the counter - frustrated that Sydney had gotten the one up on him, she always made fun of him for being cheap, trying to saddle him with the bill whenever possible. "Sneaky bitch." He said as he followed her outside while she led them to a picnic table closest to the edge of the cliff. "Anything even wrong?" He wondered if it had just been a ploy to dupe him all along.

"Come on Hap, I'm not _that_ mean." She smirked. He raised an eyebrow in challenge, reminding her of the show she had put on just weeks ago to make him look like a pussy in front of Tig. She pursed her lips, he was right - she _was_ that mean. "Scratch that." She chuckled.

"Tell me what happened." Happy gathered a spoonful of his maple walnut ice cream from the plastic dish in his hand, he always opted to get a dish because it was cheaper than a cone.

"I don't know if I'm good enough for here." She mumbled. Happy's face contorted, wondering what on earth could've possessed Sydney to allow those words to leave her mouth.

"The hell's this comin from?"

She exhaled. "I know I'm good enough for SAMCRO, but I don't know if I'm good enough for what here would mean for me…" She trailed off, hoping he would catch her drift.

"Don't think you'll be a good old lady?" He surmised exactly like she'd hoped. She was glad that he was blunt when she didn't want to be - she didn't have to say what was on her mind if he could do it for her.

"I know the life, but I think maybe I know it too much. I'm too close, I can't be _just _an old lady." She tried to find the right way to say that she thought she was too invested in the life to follow the rules of a proper old lady.

"You won't be. You'll be a member." She couldn't help but smile at how fiercely he believed in her.

"Even if I am… I don't know how to put shit aside and let people in if I don't think they're good for the club, and what if that's bad for the club?" Happy chuckled as he listened to her voice all of the things that she was overthinking. "Hap it isn't funny!" She whined, kicking him under the table.

"You're overthinking it. What brought this on?"

"I just don't think I can ever be as good as Gemma." She mumbled again when she realized how ridiculous she was being.

"You think you need to be as good as Gemma?"

"I don't know, I'd like to be..."

"Drop it. You never wanted to be the queen, you always wanted to be the king, don't let this shit with Tig change that." Happy reminded her, not wanting a relationship to overshadow her goals and distort the bigger picture.

She nodded, putting her head down on the table. "I have no fucking idea how to handle this." She exhaled, referring to the random outbursts of unwarranted emotion.

"You'll learn, like everything else. It makes sense… You got a new relationship, new home, new family, lost your old man and you don't talk about it. The weight of that shit's gotta go somewhere, it's your job to make sure it goes to the right place."

Sydney grinned, lifting her head from where it was buried in her arms. "Did anyone ever tell ya that you sound like Dr. Phil?"

"Enough." Happy shook his head, not allowing himself to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he was glad that she was acting like her normal self after what could've been a much tougher conversation that it had been.

"You look like him too…" She avoided his black eyes, smiling into her ice cream. "Why didn't you make me date so I could work this shit out while I was young?" She whined playfully.

"Have I ever been able to get you to do shit you didn't wanna do?"

"Fair point." She shrugged with a smirk.

The pair raced back to Charming in the last bit of sunlight with Sydney feeling light as a feather, a weight lifted off of her shoulders thanks to Happy.

"Thank you, Hap." Sydney wrapped her arms around his neck while he sat on his bike outside her house.

"Te amo." He rasped, holding her tight.

"Te amo." She whispered, emotion heavy on her face. It wasn't often that Happy was affectionate, but when he was, it always got her. She knew how hard it was for the Tacoma Killer to let _anyone_ in, so it was never lost on her what a privilege it was to be chosen by him.

Sydney spent the night tossing and turning without the comfort of Tig's arms. He hadn't called or stopped by - assuming that she'd successfully flown under the radar, but she still missed him sleeping next to her. After what felt like hours of trying to fall asleep, she rolled over with an exasperated sigh and grabbed her phone, not caring for the inconvenient hour of 3:43 A.M.

Tig had been having a restless night of his own after being woken by nightmares of doubt - the nightmares that Sydney had chased away the past few weeks - he was almost relieved when his phone began ringing, providing a distraction from his mind.

He got the opposite when he saw who was calling. "Got used to me huh?" He said smugly, playing off his discomfort.

"I could say the same with how quickly you answered the phone." Sydney scoffed with a smirk on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah… You got me there." The drop in his tone rather than the usual playful banter Sydney was used to did nothing to make her feel better, realizing that she had most definitely _not _succeeded in flying under the radar like she'd previously thought, no matter how much she wanted to believe it's just cause it was late. "Can't sleep?"

"Nah, turns out I like my bed being taken over." She attempted to keep her tone light even though her face was void of any happiness and she could feel the pit returning to her stomach.

"You can come sleep here if you want." He offered in the least committal way possible, not wanting to set himself up for the possible disappointment.

"Nahm it's fine. Just wanted to hear your voice."

Tig chewed the inside of his cheek in contemplation, not expecting that he would've actually needed to use the defense mechanism he'd put in place in case she rejected his offer.

"Okay. You workin at TM tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there." Her tone only grew more and more distant.

"Alright, you need help gettin to sleep just think about sheep jumpin over Harleys." She laughed at his joke but couldn't force any more words out of her mouth. He could tell there was definitely something wrong by the awkwardness of the conversation - something that had never happened before between them. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Sydney hung up, falling back onto the mattress. She hated herself for being so weak and giving in to her urges, just for it to have made the situation worse. She closed her eyes and repeated Happy's words in her head over and over again until she finally drifted off.

Tig punched his nightstand when he heard the line go dead, hating himself for not being better with words, wondering why the fuck he couldn't bring himself to ask what was wrong, even though he already knew why he couldn't - because he didn't want to hear the answer. He didn't want to hear her explain that she wasn't thinking clearly when she thought that she wanted to be with him, that it was fun while it lasted but she needed someone younger and more stable, someone who could provide for her and give her the life that she deserved.

He dragged himself out of the clubhouse and slumped over his bike in defeat, he knew it was too good to be true. He smoked a couple cigarettes before pushing off of the pavement and heading out for a ride, he knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight and his thoughts were gentler to him on the road than they were in a dark room by himself.

Sydney woke up for work a few hours later feeling anything but rested. She could only hope that she would see Tig and all of her self doubt would melt away. She knew she was overthinking it but she didn't know how to stop, and the foreign feelings of insecurity were only making her feel worse about the situation.

She managed to get herself done up and looking like normal: wearing a red tank top, distressed light wash denim shorts, and her white converse - topping the look off with red heart shaped sunglasses, red lipstick, and a red bandana which held her hair in the tousled updo. She smiled at her reflection, reminding herself exactly who the fuck she was. She didn't need to be a perfect old lady, she was going to be exactly what she was meant to be: a Son.

* * *

**Mr. Trager aint the only one with communication issues, and the meddling Gemma that we all know and love aint helping the situation :/**


	20. Red, White, and Blues

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 20: RED, WHITE, AND BLUES**

"Well don't you look like a slice of cherry pie." Gemma narrowed her eyes as she slid her glasses down the bridge of her nose to get a good look at the slender blonde standing in the doorway of the office.

"Good enough to eat, I hope." Sydney smirked.

"Uh… Ya." Gemma scoffed with wide eyes to emphasize her point. "Shut the door sweetheart."

Sydney's heart rage picked up at Gemma's request. The matriarch scared her almost as much as Clay did, but in a different way - she didn't so much worry about Gemma ripping her to shreds physically as much as she would verbally, which Sydney almost would've preferred because then she would at least have a way to defend herself.

She did as she was told, sliding off her sunglasses and sitting down on the couch with her eyes wide for dramatic effect, hoping humour and light-heartedness would get Gemma to ease up on whatever interrogation she had planned.

"What happened yesterday?"

Sydney tipped her head back, exhaling dramatically while she rolled her eyes. "What'd the prospect tell you happened yesterday?"

"Nothin, that's why I'm asking you." Gemma sassed playfully enough for her to know that this wasn't an interrogation. As nosey as Gemma was - she was genuinely concerned about the young girl that she had taken under her wing.

Sydney chuckled humorlessly, shocked that Kip had managed to keep his mouth shut - even if it was only because he didn't actually know what it was that had bothered her.

"Just had a moment, it was nothing."

"Well you might wanna tell Tig that." Gemma nodded towards the garage where Tig was sluggishly working, exhausted from the sleepless night.

"You talked to Tig?" Sydney's relaxed demeanour tightened up. "Gemma..." She whined.

"Well no one else was tellin me anything." She defended.

"I was just being stupid, its no big deal. I didn't want him thinking it's was something more than it was." She shrugged.

"You better go tell him that, cause I think he already does." Sydney fought off her irritation when Gemma advised her in her motherly tone. She knew that the communication issues were her fault but she still pulled a face, letting the older woman know that she was less than pleased with the situation as she pushed herself off of the couch. "Uh, where do you think you're going?"

"To talk to him?" Sydney looked to the older woman incredulously when she was questioned for trying to do the very thing that she had been told to do.

"Nah ah, you still haven't told me what happened." Sydney flopped back down onto the couch with a groan. "You really are my daughter." Gemma scoffed with a chuckle.

"Just getting into character, mom." Sydney chuckled back.

"You remember what I told you?" Sydney's mind drifted back to the conversation she'd had with Gemma the night that Tig officially asked her to be his girlfriend; when the wise woman told her that someone would end up hurt if they continued being too stubborn to communicate. "That doesn't just apply to Tig, it's everyone here. You can't be part of the brotherhood if they don't feel like they know you." She knew that Gemma was pulling out all the stops to get the information she desired - the woman didn't have a reputation as a master manipulator for nothing. "Look, I get being closed off - cold, mysterious, it makes you strong. But if you want a permanent spot at that table, and in his heart? You have to be okay with transparency."

Sydney heaved a heavy sigh, even if Gemma was just saying what she had to say to get what she wanted from her - it didn't mean that the words didn't hold true.

"It was stupid. That's why I didn't bother saying anything, I knew it was stupid, I knew it would make me look weak and irrational and insane and like im overthinking everything-" She sighed again when she noticed herself venting, avoiding Gemma's knowing smirk.

"I get that you need them to see you as a force to be reckoned with, but sweetheart, they are human too. If you get that kutte? You become their brother, and it is okay to be weak when it comes to family."

"That's not what they think about Jax. His weakness worries them." Gemma was taken aback by the way that Sydney boldly flipped the situation onto her son, but she couldn't help the smirk that found itself on her face - she liked the spunky little blonde.

"Jax's weakness is distraction, not good for the club."

"So you see it too?" Sydney looked for confirmation, ready to check the box that had been lingering on her to do list: Find out how much Gemma knows about Jax.

"Careful." Gemma narrowed her eyes.

"You wanna know my secrets, I wanna know yours." Sydney shrugged smugly.

"This is why mothers should drown baby girls." Gemma joked. "Jax found an old box of JT's things in storage just before Abel was born, since then he's been asking questions. Second guessing Clay, the club, the vision, everything."

"Could whatever he found potentially hurt the club?" Sydney asked cautiously, not wanting Gemma to think she was making assumptions where they shouldn't be made.

"I don't know, been tryin to find out but he's keeping it to himself. Clay's in denial."

"No he's not." Sydney shook her head with a hardened expression as she began rifling through all of the information in her mind, trying to sort it out like a rubik's cube.

"What?" Gemma scrunched up her face when the younger girl tried to tell her what her old man was thinking.

"I heard him talking to Tig. He sees it and he's worried about it, I don't think he wants you to worry. If he convinces you that everything is fine then maybe it'll go away." Her tone was stone cold, going into full business mode as she analyzed the situation. Gemma chewed her lip with a creased brow - she _knew_ she hadn't been overreacting about this like Clay had tried to convince her she was.

"What about Tara... You think it could be her?" Sydney didn't necessarily think that Tara herself was the problem - she hadn't experienced anything but politeness and aid to the club from the brunette doctor - but she wondered if perhaps the old flame had reminded Jax of the hole that she left his heart and that was what had him second guessing everything he'd stood for in the time that he'd managed to plaster over it.

"That little bitch isn't any good for him, but this started before he started dipping into that again."

"You worried she's gonna make it worse?"

"Not if I can help it… Now enough about me!" Sydney giggled, deciding that Gemma had a point and had proven it by opening up to her about her fears.

"After we saw Donna I just got a little too in my head. I would've had her exiled for disrespecting the club in front of me, but you…" Sydney spoke with admiration. "You're able to put that aside and see the bigger picture and continue to extend the olive branch even after she takes a chainsaw to it. You do what good old ladies should. I just worried that I might not be able to do the same."

Gemma smiled, walking over to the couch and sitting next to Sydney, taking the younger woman's hands in hers. "Your heart is in the right place baby. If you're protective of them, _that_ is what's best for the club." She nodded reassuringly. "You think I haven't had my days? Look at me and Tara." Sydney snorted when Gemma referred to the undying vendetta she had against Jax's high school sweetheart.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sydney smiled. She wished she would've thought to talk to Gemma yesterday before she blew things out of proportion. She should've known that the matriarch would have experienced the same doubt and would be able to offer her some sound advice in a way that she knew she would understand.

"I know I am, now you go talk to Tigger." Gemma nodded, kissing her on the cheek and pulling her up from the couch.

Tig had retired to the clubhouse after finishing his first car of the day, feeling that he deserved a much needed break after a long forty-five minutes of work. He sat at the tall table with his head down and a glass of whiskey in his hand, deep in the darkness of his thoughts.

"What's the matter? Kicked out of The Jelly Bean again?" Opie joked in his typical monotone as he entered the clubhouse, earning laughs from Piney, Half-Sack and Chibs who were all scattered amongst the empty bar. Tig chuckled along with them to avoid suspicion before returning to his previous position, being pulled from his thoughts yet again when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck.

"You need some cheerin up Tiggy?" Tig scowled, recoiling immediately when he realized it wasn't Sydney's voice, turning to see Cheryl standing behind him with a smirk on her face - clearly pleased with herself that she managed to catch him off guard.

"What the hell is wrong with you." Tig seethed, his already tainted state of mind allowing him to get angry even quicker than usual.

"Mary mother o' Christ." The confrontation with the croweater was interrupted by Chibs' outburst.

Tig's eyes followed the Scotsman's out the door where they watched Sydney walk up, looking like five and a half feet of pure American dream. His eyes widened and his jaw went slack, a steady buzz beginning to ripple under his skin as he took her in. He didn't give a shit about their issues anymore, he needed to chase this high as long as he could. Cheryl scoffed in defeat when Tig's attention drifted from her, taking off down the hallway in search of a willing body.

Sydney felt every ounce of her doubt wash away when she saw Tig looking at her like that - her confidence instantly restored. She bit her lip and continued her strut over to him, letting him bask in the glory of everyone staring at his girl before he got to show them yet again that she was his.

"Hey Sergeant." Sydney grinned once she approached. He reached out and stroked her arm, tracing all the way down to her hand and then snaking his arm around her waist, completely entranced by her beauty.

"Hi baby." If Tig thought he was confused before, he was as good as brain dead now as his lips found hers before he could even comprehend what he was doing.

Sydney sighed when they made contact, beyond thrilled that her outfit had the desired effect as she melted in his arms, revelling in how right everything felt when they were together - wondering if she would even have to address the issue with how well this was going. She reached up, holding the sides of his face and gripping the back of his neck. After some time she pulled away, looking up at him with those angelic green eyes that had the power to destroy him in seconds.

"Gemma said I could come see you for a minute, I have to get back to work." She whispered innocently, apologetically - letting him know just how much she wished she could stay to enjoy the moment.

"That's okay." He said a little too quickly, shaking his head and picking her up before reattaching his lips to hers.

She giggled against his mouth and wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing her body completely against his - addicted to the way his closeness erased her fears. He set her down on the pool table with one hand clutching her waist and the other sliding over her shirt with no regard for the fact that they had an audience. She dug her nails into his skin more aggressively as the kiss heated up - the public display only turning her on more.

Tig was thrilled when she pulled him closer instead of pushing him away. He grinned and pulled her down off of the table, wanting his body as close to hers if all he was going to get for now was a little dry humping. He gripped her ass with both hands, pulling her against his crotch while his hands slid under the little shorts she was wearing, going for as much as he could get in their short rendezvous.

He abruptly pulled away when a crashing sound from behind the bar interrupted them - seeing Half-Sack stumbling while trying to lean over the bar.

"Eh!" Tig snapped his fingers and scolded the prospect, the wild look coming to his eye when he caught the younger man trying to get a look at his woman.

Sydney chuckled, taking this as a sign that their mid-morning quarrel was over for now. She leaned up, licking her lips and attaching them to his neck, grazing her teeth along the vein. She hadn't missed Cheryl lurking in the shadows when she'd entered the clubhouse, so she was sure to mark her territory with a bright red lip print - grinning in satisfaction when she heard him whimper in pleasure before looking down at her with desperate eyes.

"I'll see you later." She said seductively and winked as she pulled away, walking past the spectators and smiling innocently at them before returning to the office to continue with the day's work before her and Gemma would be starting the cooking for tonight's big celebration. As soon as she crossed the threshold, a giant grin formed, _mission accomplished._

After working through lunch break, Gemma and Sydney made the trek across the lot to the clubhouse kitchen to begin prepping for the massive Fourth of July feast that would be taking place in just a few short hours.

"You get things smoothed over with Tigger?" Gemma asked as she was mixing hamburger meat with her hands.

"You could say that." Sydney stated cryptically with her back to the older woman as she chopped away at the never ending mountain of vegetables, impressed that the notoriously nosey Queen was able to hold off on questioning her about it for a whole four hours, even if it had only been because she was busy on the phone.

Gemma raised a brow but said nothing more, knowing that it would be more work than it was worth - she would find out from a more willing source.

6:00 P.M. rolled around and the clubhouse was bustling as the SAMCRO women got everything in order for the hoards of bikers they would be hosting tonight. The lot was filling up quickly as members from other states began trickling in to celebrate the independence of their country with the mother chapter.

When Sydney was finally relieved of her duties in the kitchen, she made her way outside - her face lighting up as she took in the scene before her. Like many parties before, there were leather covered men and scantily clad women everywhere, but the long performance tracks, huge bonfires, and heavily crowded fighting ring set this party far apart from the others.

Tig sat quietly sipping a beer with Clay, Bobby, Piney and Jax at a picnic table as they discussed the details of the rebuild while watching a couple of Vegas guys going at it in the ring. Tig was exhausted and truthfully would much rather be in bed, but knew it was important to make his presence known in support for the club on such an important day. He remained brooding, still recovering from the toll that his self loathing had taken the night before, coupled with the fact that he still didn't know what was wrong with Sydney - if anything even was wrong.

"What would happen if we didn't rebuild?" The time to approach Elliot Oswald with the blackmail was nearing and the closer it got, the more uncomfortable Jax became.

Tig scowled while Bobby and Piney acted as if they were too engrossed in the fight to have heard the bogus words coming from the younger man's mouth. Clay tried to keep his expression as casual as possible but the disapproval was blatant behind his eyes.

"Wadda ya mean?" He sounded genuinely interested in the opinion of his VP, but Tig knew it was bullshit.

"Take the land profit and put it in somethin else." Jax shrugged, seeing Clay looking more and more unamused by the second. "Hey, I'm just thinkin about what's best long term. We got heat with the Mayans, Nords. Hale crawlin up our ass, might be time to look at other ways to earn."

"Yeah, well there's a lot of shit up in the air right now, we'll figure out what the next move is." Clay dismissed his VP, wanting to avoid a fight on the celebratory evening - but it wasn't easy to keep himself from smacking the smug look off his stepson's face.

So far, Sydney had spent most of the evening with Half-Sack by her side. She had to admit, she had grown extremely fond of the young prospect; he was easy to talk to and she hadn't realized at first but the two had more in common than she thought - both working towards a seat at the table and learning how to navigate SAMCRO.

Tig was surprisingly thankful that the prospect got along with his girlfriend so well - letting the exhausted Sergeant off the hook for the evening, after getting a warning about getting too close, of course - there was no way that he was going to allow her to stand alone in the middle of a crowded party, when she didn't wear his crow, looking like _that._

"I bet I could do that." Half-Sack feigned smugness as they watched a Rogue River member burning rubber as he rode his Harley in a wheelie down the entire length of the performance track.

Sydney smirked discerningly and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah… I'm sure." She teased, wishing she had ridden her bike so she could participate in the stunting. "Do you even have a real bike?" She scowled.

"Well… I've ridden one before." The blonde girl stared at him blankly for a solid ten seconds before they both laughed. "Get me another drink prospect, I need to keep this buzz going." She playfully punched him in the arm.

Half-Sack scurried away in search of something stronger than the beer that Sydney had been drinking, while she walked over to the food tables where Gemma was topping up the buffet.

"No Ope?" She asked, not surprised that Donna hadn't let up on her stance against the club.

"Nope, thank god Bobby can handle the fireworks or Opie would be in trouble with a lot more than just Donna." Sydney felt arms around her before she could respond, the warmth under her skin from the buzz of the alcohol intensified the contrast of the cold rings on the hands that had snaked around her waist.

"Hey baby." Tig said distantly in his gravelly voice, now stewing with the doubts about his relationship _and_ the bullshit from Jax - he didn't have the energy to try and sound chipper.

"Hi Tiggy, where've you been?" Sydney pouted, the intoxication loosening her up a bit and allowing her not to be taking his distance so seriously.

"Not really in a party mood." He refused to look her in the eye, choosing to stare out into the crowd instead.

"Are you gonna stay for the fireworks." She looked up at him hopefully.

_So much for not fucking looking her in the eye_, Tig thought as his gaze was immediately pulled down to her eyes; dark green from the low light but flickering with specks of jade as they reflected the flames scattered amongst the compound. As much as he wanted to call it an early night, he knew how much she loved fireworks, and he was no match for that angelic face...

"Yeah… Yeah of course I am doll." He nodded, ironing out the crease in his brow as his expression softened and he kissed her on the forehead.

"Okay." She grinned up at him as Half-Sack returned with a bottle of coconut rum.

"This is all I could find to bring out here, you know, other than beer. I could get the whiskey but I thought you're a girl and all so…" Sydney grinned at the painfully shy kid, pulling him into a hug as she hung off his shoulders much longer than usual, playing it off as just being drunk.

Half-Sack nearly pissed himself when he saw it: the look everyone talked about. The crazy, murderous look that inhabited Tig's eyes as he watched his girlfriend hanging off of another man - a man that he had _already_ warned about getting too close...

"Let's go over there." The prospect grabbed her arms and pulled her along as he ran to the picnic table where Jessica and Juice were sitting with Jax, looking for any excuse to get away from the crazy eyed Sergeant at Arms.

"He's gonna kill me." Half-Sack gulped once they began to approach the table, looking over his shoulder to see Tig snarled before returning to his post near Clay, surveilling the party.

"Nah, I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you." Sydney laughed. "Too badly…" She finished with a shrug, cackling as the prospect's eyes went wide when he heard the last bit of her sentence.

"Why you gotta do this shit." He whined, knowing by the smirk on her face that she did it on purpose. "This because of what happened yesterday?"

Sydney raised a brow as an amused look formed on her face. "You're gettin real bold around here prospect." She said by way of an answer before joining the younger group at the picnic table.

After about an hour of passing multiple bottles around the table, Sydney realized she desperately had to pee. She got up from the picnic table, wobbling and falling right back into her seat, laughing as she hadn't realized how drunk she was. Her group at the table, as well as some stragglers that had joined throughout the night, all laughed - watching in anticipation as she tried again, steadying herself once she got to her feet.

"I'm good." She put a hand up and laughed.

Half-Sack sat nervously as Sydney got up to make her way to the bathroom, but his uncertainty didn't last long as he caught Tig's narrowing eyes across the compound, nodding frantically and getting up to follow.

"I'll come with you." Half-Sack attempted to say casually but as usual, failed. Sydney scowled dramatically, her facial expressions a little more enhanced thanks to her intoxication.

"You know the rule only applies to _girls_ going to the bathroom together… Right?"

"Well… I need to pee too." He drawled his words out before he landed on the poor excuse.

Sydney rolled her eyes at his inability to lie even _half _decent, getting an idea or two about _why_ he had been attached to her hip all night. As much as she wanted to press him for the truth - her bladder apparently hadn't scheduled any time for that.

"Come on then." She said impatiently, taking off towards the clubhouse and making him run after her. She came to a screeching halt once they entered the main room, Half-Sack almost running into her.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"You can wait here for me."

"Um… But like what if somethin happens, you know."

Sydney scoffed. "I'm gonna give you _one_ chance to _tr_y and come up with an excuse as to why you're following me now, and not at every other party before, and why you suddenly seem to think I need a guard dog to take a piss. Come on, let me hear what ya got." He stared at her with wide eyes, looking as if he could shit his pants right then and there as she called his bluff. "That's what I thought." She scoffed again. "I know Tig put you up to this, so consider yourself lucky that I _let _you follow me in here and look like a good little errand boy for the big bad Sergeant." She mocked before slowly walking up and pressing her body against his, making him wince uncomfortably. "Keep shit like this from me again, and you'll be seeing _firsthand_ that I don't need a protector." She whispered in his ear with gritted teeth, the adrenaline and anger effectively tabling her buzz.

She turned dramatically and took off once again towards her destination, nodding to Clay and Happy who were talking at the bar with a tall, broad man who had spiked blonde hair and blue eyes - sporting Tacoma patches. The man looked like he was plucked straight off the beaches of Malibu, but the hollows of his face and the tattoo on his neck proved that he was pure outlaw.

Herman Kozik had been invited down from Tacoma to participate in the SAMCRO Fourth of July celebration by his longtime friend, Happy Lowman. The two had been Tacoma brothers before Happy went Nomad, but he had managed to earn himself a spot on the exclusive roster of people that the Tacoma Killer actually kept in contact with.

The Tacoma resident was more than familiar with SAMCRO - being a former member of the mother chapter. He had served in the marines alongside Tig when the two were young and the dark haired man was the one who had convinced him to join the Sons in the first place to help kick the drug habit that was taking him down the path to an early grave as a result of the damage that combat had caused him, The two had a falling out a few years later, leading to his decision to transfer to Tacoma, where he met Happy.

Kozik was enjoying the conversation with his California brothers and even more so enjoying the fact that he had successfully been able to stay out of Tig's path thus far, when a gorgeous blonde girl strutted past him - nodding to Clay. His small eyes widened, craning his neck to stare as she walked away from him, wondering what the hell was in the water if their club whores looked like _that._ He was startled when his action earned him a hard punch from Happy, who was glaring at him and looking more than displeased.

"What! She one of your favorites or somethin?" Kozik was confused as to why his bald brother cared who he was checking out. The young girl _was _every ounce Happy's type - blonde, slim, and a great rack, he wondered briefly if someone had _actually_ gotten the Tacoma Killer to settle down.

"It aint what you're thinkin." Happy rasped with an upturned lip before turning to order another beer, signifying that he wouldn't be answering any more questions.

"So she's single?" Kozik surmised with a shit eating grin.

"Trust me." Clay snorted. "She's _very_ taken." He widened his eyes, warning the Tacoma Sergeant.

Kozik scowled in confusion. He didn't see a crow on the little blonde, and she was walking through the clubhouse alone dressed like a sweetbutt. He decided not to question any further - he would find out for himself. Besides, there was plenty of pussy to go around tonight.

Sydney giggled as she heard Happy shove the man who had been gawking at her. Blondes weren't usually her type, but had she been single she might've actually given the burly man a chance, _maybe it was just the Sergeant patch… _

After taking her time in the bathroom and marinating in the buzz she managed to gain back, Sydney sauntered back out to the party, on her way across the bar to meet back up with her security guard when she heard a familiar voice.

"Well if it aint my Cali Queen." Sydney lit up as she turned around to see her godfather, Les Packer.

"Uncle Les!" She squealed before jumping into his arms, not expecting that anyone from home had made the trip for the holiday.

"Woah woah woah." The San Bernardino President huffed. "Careful now, I am an old man these days." He chuckled as he lowered her to the ground.

"You? No way." She joked.

"Hey Syd." Yates nodded cautiously. Sydney's excitement turned to disappointment as her lip turned up at the black haired man.

"Why couldn't you have brought Tank?" She pouted to her godfather with those wide doe eyes that had caused him so much trouble over the last twenty-two years, making him laugh.

"Nice to see you too." Yates deadpanned before making off to the bar.

Les put an arm around his goddaughter's shoulders. "So, Clay tells me someone's managed to steal the heart of my Princess." He lowered his voice as if the conversation was top secret, making Sydney giggle. His statement came out like more of a question, hardly being able to believe that Sydney had _actually_ let someone in. "Tacoma Killer?" He asked, figuring it had to be the only viable option.

"Redwood Sergeant." She replied bashfully, looking to the ground as her cheeks began to pinken. Packer raised his eyebrows, he was familiar with Tig, the Northern Cali Sergeant was ruthless, loud and a little insane… Just like Sydney. "Yeah, yeah." She groaned at his reaction.

"How you doin here? You haven't called." He steered the conversation elsewhere.

"I love it, it feels like home." Sydney gushed with bright eyes. She felt mildly guilty for not reaching out to anyone back home, but she knew they all understood.

"I'm glad to hear that sweetheart, your daddy would be real happy."

"He would." Sydney nodded with a genuine smile, knowing how proud her dad would be that all of his hard work had paid off and that she was doing okay without him. She realized in the moment that it was probably part of the reason that Les had helped set up SAMCRO for her, he knew she would thrive in Charming without the reminder of her dad's death at every turn she took.

"Les?" He had begun to pull away, leaving her to mingle with her new family, but was stopped by her inquisition. He turned back to face her with soft, caring eyes. Sydney smiled, the amount of attention he paid to her wasn't lost on her, he'd always made her feel like her words had such purpose. Truth be told, the SAMDINO President would've patched his goddaughter in a second, but he knew that his crew didn't feel the same way, and the hardly outlaw Southern Cali M.C. slapping their rocker on her back would've been an insult to her capabilities.

"Do you really think they'd let me patch?" She asked quietly, feeling more comfortable with her vulnerability around the man she'd known for the entirety of her life.

"I wouldn't have chosen here for you to go if I didn't think they would." He stated reassuringly with a nod.

She nodded back with a smile, letting him get back to socializing before she tossed a glance at Half-Sack, letting him know she would be going back outside now but she made no move to speak to him. She found an empty picnic table by the garage and sat down, sparking up a cigarette. Even though the conversation with Packer had been reassuring in some areas, it gave her a lot to think about in others. Weakness was never something she handled well - it was something she'd managed to chase out of most areas for her life. But like Happy had said the day prior, between her dad's death, her transfer to Charming and her new relationship - her unspent emotions were putting her through the ringer.

She watched Tig longingly across the lot as he chatted with Bobby, unsure about whether or not she should address the shit from yesterday - especially after things had seemed so great this morning, but then there was the issue of him having the prospect spy on her… Wondering if it was because he didn't trust her, or had simply just been looking out for her in the crowded party - even then wasn't that _his _job as her old man? She racked her brain for the right answer, the right move - something she could always come up with on the fly but for some reason came up empty handed when it came to him.

"Get the fuck outta your head." She was shaken from her thoughts by a raspy voice, whirling around to see Happy stepping up onto the picnic table and taking a seat beside her.

She chortled at his bluntness and ability to know what she was thinking. "You didn't tell me Packer was coming." She changed the subject.

"Figured you could use a surprise."

"I'm not wounded Hap." She rolled her eyes but kept her tone light enough to know that she wasn't _deeply _offended.

"Never said you were." He challenged, initiating a staredown which she was the first to break, turning her attention back to her cigarette. "Got a smoke?" She snorted, laughing before handing him her pack out of her back pocket, trying her hardest to refrain from making a cheapskate joke.

"Is D coming?" She asked with deflated hope in her tone - knowing that she would've seen Donut with the other Tacoma Sons if he was coming tonight, but not wanting the conversation to revert back to its origin.

"Nah, Lee's got him on a run."

"Well, fuck Lee." She pouted as she spoke of the SAMTAC President.

"Watch your mouth." Happy warned her disrespect of his former President, but the smirk on his lips showed he was being facetious.

"He can send Malibu barbie down but not my Donut?" She whined at the narrowly missed opportunity to see one of the only other people on the planet that she genuinely loved to be around.

Happy chuckled at her description of Kozik. "Yates is here." He hadn't been sure that she had seen the other familiar SAMDINO face yet.

"Yates is a bitch." She scoffed with a grimace, shaking her head at the face that he thought she would be exicted to see _Yates_.

Happy chuckled - she wasn't wrong. "You'll see him again soon." He nodded formally before ashing out his cigarette on the table, sticking the roach in his pocket, and pushing himself to his feet.

Sydney laughed loudly when he stored the cigarette butt in his pocket for later. "Okay I was _really_ trying not to make cheap jokes but Hap, you make it so hard. There's like 3 puffs left on that!" She spoke incredulously, waving her hands about.

Happy just smirked, glad that his tactic had worked in cheering her up. "You see Kozik?"

Sydney became intrigued when she realized who the Tacoma Sergeant was. Happy hadn't spoken extensively of Kozik, but he'd let on enough for her to know that the two were good friends and had good history together.

"I always knew you liked blondes." She grinned, nudging him with her foot.

"Fuck off." Happy grunted before striding back towards the clubhouse.

Sydney was feeling uplifted after her conversation with Happy, albeit a short one where he mainly swore at her. She dragged Half-Sack to the bar for a couple shots, heightening her level of intoxication that had begun to fade before she finally returned to the drunken group at the picnic table.

About an hour later, music was blaring from every corner of the compound after the fights and stunt track had wrapped up. Sydney found herself on top of a picnic table, dancing with Jessica, Juice, Jax, enjoying putting on a show for the spectators. The group danced until the music was cut off in preparation for the fireworks, everyone beginning to pair off for the evening. Sydney began scanning the crowd for Tig as she still stood on the picnic table, a shock running through her as she picked him out of the crowd by his blue eyes as he walked towards her.

A smile spread across Tig's face as he watched her light up when she saw him. He reached up, grabbing her waist to bring her to the ground the second that he approached but she wrapped her legs around his waist, quickly nixing that plan. He chuckled, nuzzling in the crook of her neck and breathing in her familiar scent that had been mixed with alcohol. He was surprised to be relatively sober, especially on such a big party night for the club, _especially_ when he was dealing with demons. He usually turned to alcohol when his mind was weighing on him, but something had given him the belief that he possessed the strength to combat them on his own.

"You have fun dancin with your boyfriends?" He teased as he turned around, sitting on the picnic table with her in his lap

"Mhmm." Sydney hummed with an amused smile in response to the playful banter. "I sure did." She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, exhausted from the day's events.

After a couple minutes of resting in his arms and inhaling his cologne, she pried herself off of him and turned to look towards the sky where the fireworks were beginning. She watched the exploding lights in the sky in awe with a grin plastered on her face - she'd loved fireworks since she was a little girl, and the SAMCRO Fourth of July display was anything but disappointing.

Tig knew he needed to ask the question, it would eat him alive if he didn't. He figured now while she was drunk and in a good mood was a good time to get the truth out of her.

"Hey, what was goin on yesterday?" He nudged her arm, asking as gently and casually as possible - giving her a chance to clear the air.

Sydney's joyful expression fell before she could catch it. She contemplated telling him the truth for a split second, but she figured why ruin the mood? She was far past what the issue itself was and the only thing that kept nagging her about it was the way that she'd handled it. She knew what she needed to do in the future to ensure that didn't happen again, so she'd deemed it pointless to talk about.

"Oh nothing!" She perked up. "I was just tired, Gemma dragged me to the grocery store with her to get shit for tonight so I'm sure you know how that can be."

Tig had to give it to her… She was a good liar, if it wasn't for the alcohol providing a slight delay in her reaction, he might've believed her. He nodded, pulling her out of his lap and guiding her onto the table next to him as he got up, grabbing her elbow lightly once he was on his feet, turning his body to face her and leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I know you're lyin to me." He said coldly before kissing her temple and pulling away. "Prospect'll take you home." He stated before nodding to Half-Sack and walking off to his dorm.

Half-Sack approached cautiously after getting the signal from Tig as he noticed Sydney sitting frozen with a pained look on her face, noting that she looked more angry than anything.

"Syd." He said softly, reaching out to brush his fingers over her forearm.

"Don't touch me." She snapped, smacking his hand away and pushing off the table, making a beeline for the van.

"Uh… We- We're taking the truck!" He awkwardly tried to call after her. "Come on..." He mumbled with a grimace as he took off after her - fully aware that he was playing with fire at this point.

Sydney's chest heaved as she held back tears of frustration. Frustration over being caught off guard, over being weak, over Tig degrading her, over Half-Sack spying on her for him, but most of all: over her inability to properly open up, which is what started this mess in the first place. She stood with her back against the van as she waited for Half-Sack, praying for both of their sakes that he didn't ask any questions.

Half-Sack almost tripped over his own feet when he found Sydney at the van. "Uh we have to go in the tow." She noticed he was keeping his distance which she couldn't help but smirk at, turning to follow him to the other side of the lot where she climbed into the truck without a word, crossing her arms and looking out the window at the dwindling party.

"Do you want to come up and make sure I get tucked into bed okay so you can report back to him?" Sydney asked sarcastically when they pulled up after a short and silent drive, slamming the door before he could answer.

Half-Sack threw his fears out the window, jumping out of the truck and running after her. "Syd it wasn't like that!" He couldn't let his friend think that he had just been spending time with her because he was told to, or that her confidence in him was misplaced.

"Then what was it like?" She screamed, whipping around to face him as she stood on the stoop, her chest heaving again as the panic filled her lungs.

The horrified look on the poor kid's face who was only doing what he was told was what finally sent her over the edge in her inebriated state, tears started falling and she began choking on sobs.

To say that Half-Sack was shocked to see her breaking down in front of him was an understatement, but he'd seen enough out of her tonight to know that whatever was going on wouldn't be helped by him emphasizing this weakness that she was clearly unhappy about showing. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, trying to calm her down. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she hugged back rather than laying him out, guiding her to sit when he felt her shaking, holding her until she eventually calmed down.

"I wasn't spying on you."

"I know you were just doing what you were told-" Sydney began by way of an apology for lashing out at him, shaking her head before she was cut off.

"No. I mean like, he didn't want me to _spy_ on you. Look they don't really give a lot of details when they tell me to do shit, but said that he had shit to take care of and he didn't want you to be alone tonight." Sydney smiled lightly when Tig's true intentions were revealed - finding it sweet even when he was mad at her, he wanted her to have a good time.

Tig was _finally_ in the comfort of his own dorm and away from the crowd when he heard an angry knock at the door. He groaned, rolling out of bed when he recognized the incessant rapping on the door, wishing that there was a way to pretend that he wasn't home.

"What?" He groaned like a teenager, opening the door for Gemma.

"Where's Sydney?" He stiffened up when he heard the tone in her voice, realizing that she was properly pissed.

"Prospect took her home."

"Without saying goodbye?" The Queen crinkled her brows in confusion at the out of character action from the social young woman. "I thought you two worked your shit out today?"

"Wasn't any shit to work out. She won't talk to me." He responded bitterly.

"Did you give her a chance to?"

He shook his head at Gemma jumping to conclusions, assuming he was the one fucking things up. "Yep." He kept his answers short, hoping that if he didn't give her the information she wanted, she would leave him alone so that maybe he wouldn't feel like such an asshole

Gemma sighed and sat down on his bed, feeling bad for placing the blame on him once she realized how bothered he was by the situation.

"She's struggling baby..." She started gently. "Doesn't know how to deal with these feelings she has for you."

"She wouldn't have to if she would just tell me what the fuck I did so I can fix it."

His friend smirked as she caught the way he referred to himself fixing the problem - rather than her getting over it, a quality she hadn't seen from Tig Trager in decades.

"You really love her, don't you?"

"I do." He sighed with a shake of his head.

"It wasn't anything you did." He looked to Gemma in surprise and a little resentment over the fact that Sydney had no problem telling her, but couldn't tell him. Gemma held her hand to silence him, shutting down the thoughts he was about to voice. "I had to rip that shit out of her, took time _and_ telling her some secrets of my own. That girl is one tough cookie." She nodded. "We ran into Donna yesterday at the store, she saw how I handled it and got spooked, didn't think she'd be able to rise to the task of being a proper old lady."

"But I don't want a-" Tig shook his head incredulously.

"Believe me." Gemma cut him off again. "I know, I tried to tell her. She's just stuck in her head sweetheart, you are doing fantastic. I think that's why she didn't want to say anything - knows it's her own shit." She advised the confused Sergeant in her comforting, motherly tone.

Tig took in what she was saying and as much as he wanted to listen to the demons in the back of his mind saying it was because he was no good and didn't deserve something as pure as the love Sydney made him feel - Gemma's words made sense. He nodded, deciding he would wait for the prospect to return from dropping Sydney off before he would go to her house to plead his case.

"Thanks Gem."

Gemma stood and brought Tig in for a hug, kissing him on the cheek. "You're welcome baby." She nodded approvingly before slipping out the door.

Within thirty seconds of Gemma leaving, Tig was being summoned by a knock again. As much as he wanted to cuss out whoever it was for dragging him out of bed for a second time, he was anticipating Half-Sack's return. What he wasn't anticipating however, was for Sydney to be standing before him.

"You were right."

"What?" He stared at her with his eyes glossed over. He'd heard what she said and knew what she meant but the surprise over her being there had made him unable to utter anything else.

"You were right. I was lying earlier and I shouldn't have-" Sydney was cut off by his lips crashing hard into hers, her mind going completely blank. When he pulled away she looked up at him flustered, dizzy and with pink cheeks - unable to pick up where she left off as she was overwhelmed by desire while he stared at her with that needy gaze.

She reached up, grabbing his neck and pulling him back down to her lips. He reacted instantly, grabbing her thighs to lift her up and kicking the door shut behind him before backing over to the bed, sitting with her in his lap as they bit each other's lips and began to hastily rid each other of clothing. If there was anything to be said about their relationship - it was that they were much better at _showing_ how much they cared rather than explaining it, worshipping each other physically rather than with words.

Once Tig had gotten her top off and she had pushed his kutte off of his shoulders, his lips found her neck. She tipped her head back to give him as much access as possible, pressing her chest against him and grinding her hips against his as he sucked greedily at her sensitive skin - leaving fresh marks over the ones that had faded. He got her bra undone, ravishing her chest the same way he did her neck before flipping them over so that she was on her back and he was kneeling between her legs.

She leaned up and began working on his belt buckle while he ripped his shirt off, finding her lips again while her hands were at work. As soon as his pants were undone, he leaned down, forcing her onto her back again as their lips remained connected, pulling away to unbutton her shorts and pull them off. Once the denim left her legs, his hand was cupping her between her thighs, over her panties, massaging her slowly. She leaned up again, desperate for his lips, pulling him down on top of her. She wrapped her legs around his waist to keep him close and somehow managed to drag his pants down his knees, reaching down to stroke him over his boxers.

The air around them was electric and their movements were greedy. Sydney finally knew what people meant when they said that make up sex was the best kind of sex - never having stuck around any of her conquests long enough to ever _have_ something to make up for.

Tig whimpered when she grabbed his dick, not realizing just how badly he had been needing the contact with their tangle this morning and their scuffle this evening. He quickly pulled the red lace thong she was wearing to the side, running his fingers through her folds a few times before sliding a finger into her dripping wet slit. She whimpered against his lips now in response to the intrusion of his thick finger, but the whimpers quickly turned to moans as he added another and began pumping them into her in his perfectly mastered way, his thumb rubbing her clit. She pulled away from his lips, moaning whilelooking into his eyes with an erotic haze in hers - making him even harder than he already was.

"You're so fucking sexy." The moment made him realize _why_ he loved foreplay with her so much: being able to physically see and feel her getting more and more turned on by him and him alone.

"For you." She kissed him again, stroking his tongue with her own as the bliss of proper foreplay after a few days without it took her to a whole new level of horny. She let her hand travel inside of his boxers, moaning even louder when she felt how hard he was in her grasp, gripping the curls at the back of his neck with her other hand. She felt a shiver run through her, her senses heightened to the max as her body begged for him.

Tig ripped his fingers from her when he felt her inner muscles massaging them, knowing what she was asking for. He pulled away from her mouth once again, his dick twitching when he heard her whimper at the loss of contact. Sliding her panties down her legs as quickly as possible, he returned to her mouth as he hovered over her with one hand propping him up while the other grasped his cock and slowly slid into her.

"Oh god!" The prolonged sensation of overwhelming pleasure had Sydney crying out and clutching to him.

Tig let her adjust, taking the few seconds to marinate in his own pleasure as she gripped down on his dick like a vice. Once he felt her inner muscles relax, he began thrusting slow and deep - watching her eyes roll back each time he retracted just enough so that she would feel _every_ inch when pushed back in.

Even though he was literally inside her, Tig needed more contact after the emotionally trying couple of days their relationship had faced. He scooped her up into his arms, bringing him into his lap to face him, his cock never leaving her. Sydney gasped at the new angle before sighing, pressing her body against him - the two thrusting against each other while his lips alternated between her mouth, jaw and neck.

After climaxing together, Sydney laid on Tig's chest - the pair tangled in the sheets as they soaked up the afterglow. He was holding her tightly against his chest with his lips against her forehead and her hand in his, glad that his doubts about their relationship had been temporarily silenced.

"I'm not good at this." Sydney whispered.

"I'm not either. We'll learn together." He assured her before bringing her fingers to his lips.

* * *

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**Cherry Pie - Warrant (of course lol)**_

_**Country Girl - Luke Bryan**_

_**The Dark - Jocelyn Alice**_


	21. Ocean Eyes

**aravenamongcrows Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 21: OCEAN EYES**

A couple of days had passed since the Fourth of July party and Sydney and Tig had managed to move past their incident. To say that Tig's demonic thoughts had been laid to rest would be an overstatement, but they had been silenced at the very least and he was glad to be feeling more like the version of himself that he didn't despise.

A little time alone to reflect on herself after she'd released her emotions the night of the party, without the embarrassment of showing vulnerability, had done Sydney some good. She managed to conclude that she'd gotten a little too used to the idea that she had to be a robot that was only good for carrying out club duties, that her only task was to prove herself, thinking that any display of emotion or irrational behaviour would immediately strike from the roster - forgetting that she was allowed to be human. Yes, being a woman meant that she needed to work a little harder, but Gemma helped her realize that she'd lost sight of the fact that over all - this was a family.

The next thing she realized was that the reason she struggled with her vulnerability was because no matter how much she hated the way she reacted, it made sense to her - she could rationalize it. She had always been the kind of person who had unconventional thinking and a different way of doing things, but as long as she could make sense of it - she didn't care. She _knew _her issues were all in her head, she felt they were justified, which is why she had such a hard time pushing it away. The realizations were a step in the right direction, allowing herself to remove the mental block and accept the weakness that she had - at least when she was alone.

Sydney was trotting across the concrete in her garage and over to her ninja when her phone vibrated.

**Happy Feet ?: U good?**

She smiled, thumbing a quick response to the Tacoma Killer who had left with Kozik the day after the big party to visit his namesake and work on getting in more glocks. She genuinely appreciated that he cared to check on her after her low few days, since he wasn't around to keep an eye on her.

**S** **: Si hermano ❤️**

Happy nodded at his flip phone, satisfied with the encounter and stuffing the device back into the deep pocket of his jeans until it vibrated again. He scoffed in frustration, whipping it open.

**S** **: Tell D he better come visit me soon ?**

**Happy Feet ?: K**

She laughed at his short response, knowing that he hated texting almost as much as he hated her double replies.

Sydney sped down the highway on her Ninja with a grin on her face. After days of anticipation it was finally time to confront Elliot Oswald and secure their new warehouse in preparation for the shipment of guns from Michael McKeevy which was due to arrive from Ireland any day now.

Clay, Tig, Juice and Sydney all climbed off of their bikes once they parked on the Oswald's acreage. Sydney was beaming, thrilled that she'd been recruited for this blackmail and even more thrilled that Jax wasn't - finding humor in the insult to injury that Clay threw in, making an example out of Jax by allowing Juice of all people to tag along. The week had been full of unwanted confrontation - she was bursting with excitement over a desired one.

The quartet strolled up the dirt path around the property to the back where the horse stables were located, their boots kicking up dirt as they looked around the substantial estate in various states of disdain before finally locating their target who was brushing the mane of a brown mare. Clay lit a cigar as they approached, tall, threatening, dressed head to toe in black leather.

"Clay." Oswald said shakily by way of a greeting as he turned around, unsettled but not surprised to see the outlaw at his home. "How did you get in here?"

"I told the guard at the gate that we were here to fix your cars." He spoke casually with the cigar between his teeth.

Sydney found herself in admiration of Clay every time that he handled business - there was something about him that was just so intimidating, maybe it was the casual approach that often chose, when it was public knowledge how dangerous he was.

"Guess we look like the help." He laughed with a giant grin, Juice and Sydney chuckling while Tig rounded the horse.

"What's this about?"

"This is a great lookin horse man." Tig stated dreamily, menacingly, while he stroked the mane of the beautiful and surely expensive animal. Sydney smirked, knowing exactly what Tig was doing as Oswald stared at him with a slight scowl in a mixture of confusion and discomfort.

"I assume you got that uh, special delivery package I sent ya." Clay cocked his brow, referring to the balls Sydney had sawed off of the clown that raped the daughter of the wealthy man. The statement sparked Sydney's memory of Tristen Oswald - how she'd promised to visit the young girl, a distant hope that she would be able to while they were on the property.

"Yeah. I got it. You made your point, I reneged on our deal."

"The knife." Clay nodded to Tig who pulled the bagged, bloody knife out of his kutte. "It's still got your prints all over it. The nutless clown that raped your daughter? Well, he's buried in Macon woods. Dead body, muder weapon, motive - the three things a guy needs for a homicide conviction."

"Jesus Christ… You're insane." The petrified look that Oswald had the night of Tristen's rape, washed over his face once again.

"I assure you Elliot." Clay stalked closer to the man. "I'm saner than I've ever been." Oswald looked behind him for a way out as the outlaw got closer, turning to see Tig breathing down his neck. "I need your help Elliot. If you refuse, I'm gonna turn all three of those items over to Unser." He stated as he began petting the horse.

"So what do you want?" He sighed - knowing he was trapped, figuratively _and_ literally - looking over his shoulder at the overbearing Sergeant once again.

"Warehouse. Access road, somethin off the radar." Clay listed his credentials.

"Guns?" The land owner shuddered.

"You don't ever need to know."

Oswald took a final look around him as if to be sure that he had no way out of the situation. He didn't verbally agree, not wanting to say the words out loud and soil that white collar of his, instead he simply nodded and gave the address of a vacant warehouse, telling Clay bitterly that Rosen could draw up the lease papers and he would sign them.

"Your daughter here?" Sydney asked with a little too much menace in her tone considering the unfortunate situation regarding the young girl, but she was desperate for some compensation for the backseat she'd been forced to take on the matter.

"The hell d'you want with my daughter?"

"Just checking on a neighbour." She pursed her lips and shrugged.

"No. She isn't here." Sydney knew he was lying, but she also knew that there was no use trying to see the girl while her undoubtedly overprotective father was around.

The outlaws made their way back down the path to their bikes with smirks on their faces after completing the uneventful coup. Engines were fired up and kickstands were raised when Tig gave Sydney a look and a slight nod that told her to hang back. She nodded, allowing Clay to take off with Juice in tow before she removed her helmet and turned her attention to her man. Her eyebrows raised in question as he dismounted his bike and approached hers, leaning his weight against one of her handlebars.

"You okay with how that went down?" He grimaced. As much as she appreciated Tig's concern as well as the reassurance from him that this _was_ supposed to be her deal, the rush of defence still sparked in her nerves. She exhaled, fighting it off.

"Yeah, I'm good. I can tell Clay's got some shit with Oswald." She answered sincerely.

Usually Sydney would've been more bitter over Clay taking the lead on a blackmail that was only possible because of something that was her idea in the first place, but she could sense that there was history between the two older men and that it meant something to Clay to prove a point to his wealthier and seemingly more successful colleague. For the morale of the club, she'd decided to keep her mouth shut.

Tig smiled when he saw the thought process on her face clear as day - as well as the way she was making a conscious effort to be more open for him. He nodded approvingly before taking her face in his hands.

"Okay baby." He tipped her face up towards his, his lips meeting hers as he poured as much emotion as he could into the kiss in an attempt to make her feel better over the way the afternoon had played out.

Sydney smiled into the kiss, feeling the underlying bitterness beginning to melt away as she brought her hands up to the leather cuffs arounds his arms, holding his wrists in place. _Maybe opening up wasn't so bad after all._

"I'll meet you back there." He squeezed her arm with a smile before climbing back on his bike.

"Race ya!' She called before yanking her black helmet down over her curls, her tires spitting up rocks and leaving a cloud of dust in her wake as the bike teetered due to the hasty take off. Tig chortled, glad that she didn't seem to be too phased before he peeled out after her.

Sydney had passed Clay and Juice a few miles back and was currently leant against her Ninja in the TM lot, admiring her manicure. She'd just gotten a fresh set done by Luann's girl at Cara Cara and she had to admit that despite her worry that the small town women might not be able to achieve her standard, they looked great - a long coffin shape and cherry red in colour.

She finally turned her head towards the gate when she heard the approaching Harleys, not seeing Tig among the group. "There you boys are! I was beginnin to think somethin happened." She taunted as the men grumbled and dismounted their bikes. "Where's Tig?"

"Stopped off for gas a couple miles back." Clay reported before he followed the other men into the clubhouse.

"Aye, McKeevy'll be here tomorrow." Chibs held up his burner from a barstool as his President entered, signalling that he had just gotten word.

"Take possession tomorrow morning." Clay nodded curtly. "Where's the prospect?" He asked when he realized that a cold beer wasn't being brought to him immediately and that he had to get it himself.

"Ran out after gettin a call." Chibs shook his head in mild confusion, assuming that the call he'd gotten earlier had been from Clay.

"Hey! Bartender! Beer over here, stat." Sydney yelled to Clay with a grin from down the bar, who chuckled and rolled his eyes before sliding a Corona across the glossy surface of the bar top when Tig walked in.

"Don't even start…" He began with a hand up to silence the trash talk Sydney was about to berate him with for taking so long. "It wasn't an even playing field."

'Mhmm." She nodded with a serious look, feigning acceptance of his excuse before smiling and leaning up to kiss his lips briefly as he approached.

"You know where Sack is?" Clay nodded to his Sergeant.

"Hey babe can you go grab my sunglasses?" Tig asked Sydney quietly, who nodded happily. He smirked in approval and gave her a swat on the butt as she made off towards his dorm.

When Sydney came back out, she noticed Tig abruptly stop his conversation with Clay, looking over to her with wide eyes, furrowing her brows in question.

"7:00 P.M. tomorrow." Clay nodded to the Sergeant.

"You got it man." Tig nodded, looking out the door to see Half-Sack walking up. "Come on, doll." The dark haired man nodded eagerly towards the door as he rounded the bar, holding his hand for Sydney. There were still several hours of daylight left to pull off what he had planned, but they would have to get on the road quickly to make the most of it. Her brows remained creased but she took his hand and followed him out to his bike where he handed her his spare helmet.

"Scared I'd beat ya if you let me ride alone?" She taunted with a grin.

He looked back at her with his lips pursed and an unamused look on his face, saying nothing as he fired up his bike and drove them out of the lot. Sydney held on tight as they roared down the highway, she had no idea where it was that they were going and as soon as she found herself inhaling the sweet smell of the tall redwood trees along the scenic route Tig had chosen, enjoying the air rushing over her face and her hair blowing freely in the wind - she didn't care.

Tig didn't have to turn around to know that she was greatly enjoying herself, he could feel her buzzing as she held onto him which had him sporting a grin almost as big as hers. He reached down off the handlebar, trailing his hand down her calf as if to let her know that he could feel her joy.

Even through her black jeans his touch gave her goosebumps, widening the smile that was already on her face as she continued to scan the scene around them, wondering where it was that he was taking her.

After a glorious two-hour ride, Tig veered onto an off ramp. Unfortunately for Sydney, she had been too busy admiring the shapes of the clouds in the sky to have seen the sign for Santa Cruz. She knew they were in a city on the coast, but it hadn't quite occurred to her yet just what he was planning - that was, until she saw a break in the buildings and the glimmering sea water in the direction they were headed. She lit up, bouncing on the leather seat behind Tig as she tightened her arms in excitement.

Tig chuckled as she squeezed him tighter when they neared the gorgeous California coastline. He parked along the boardwalk, confirming that this was their destination. Sydney was almost screeching with excitement as they dismounted the bike, but her state of awe kept things silent between them, her green eyes wide as she took in the beautiful sight of the sandy beach, blue water, and carnival lights on the boardwalk.

She looked up to him with a giddy grin to see him admiring her. "Thank you, Tiggy!" She squealed before launching herself around him in a hug of appreciation.

"You like it?" She nodded with her nose buried in his chest.

He knew she'd mentioned missing the beach back home, but he hadn't expected her to have missed it this much. He was glad that his impulsive idea after what happened with Clay and Oswald had paid off, realizing that maybe this was his way of making up for the guilt that he felt over the things that had crossed his mind in the past week. He was also glad that he'd been able to pull it off in the first place - having to sneakily get Half-Sack into her house to pack her things _and_ get the go ahead from Clay in the short time that she wasn't in his direct company. He had to admit, he was excited too - Happy being in town more these days meant that the Sergeant was finally getting some much needed time off - _real_ time off, not just getting to sit around the clubhouse in case something came up and Clay needed the ruthless soldier by his side.

"I got Half-Sack to stop at your house…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he popped open the storage compartment to see what the clueless prospect had packed for her - hoping that his faith in the kid was not misplaced. "Uh… Is this… Is this okay? We can go buy you somethin if not..." He pulled out the white bikini that Half-Sack had chosen.

"Damn… You must really love me if you let the prospect rifle through my panty drawer." She spoke with a grin, wanting him to know just how happy she was regardless of his worry over being a little unprepared. "You know, I'm happy just seeing the beach again if you don't wanna..." She trailed off, not wanting him to think that she wasn't excited, but she hadn't exactly pegged him as much of a beach-goer.

"And miss out on showin this whole beach what a hot body your old man has? No way." He winked. "Wanna leave your jacket? It's hot." He looked to her thoughtfully as he stuffed his kutte into the storage compartment on his bike.

She nodded, shrugging out of the leather jacket she wore over her white tube top - it had been a mild day in Charming but here in Santa Cruz, the unforgiving sun was beating down. After the storage compartment was locked, Tig held out his hand to her as they began their stroll along the path that lined the beach leading up to the entrance, letting Sydney go first only so he could slap her ass when she passed by, earning some looks from bystanders.

"Go change, I'll get towels and meet ya out there." Tig squinted in the sun as he nodded towards the open beach, as they approached the building on the edge of the sand which contained changing rooms, bathrooms, and showers. She nodded, pulling him down for a peck before she headed to the change rooms with a bashful smile.

As Tig predicted - he had changed into the black swim trunks he'd acquired from the convenience store on the way back from Oswald's much quicker than Sydney, and was sitting on the blue and white striped beach towel across the sand in a more secluded area of the beach next to a section of cliff-like rocks with his sun-shielded eyes trained on the doors of the facility as he waited for her to emerge. Even with the anticipation, he couldn't have prepared himself for the sight that made his heart stop and his jaw drop: his girl, strutting out of those doors in the white bikini with her hair blowing in the wind like she was on the runway of a lifetime. He groaned at the sight… The white suit making her tan pop and eyes sparkle, the angelic colour making her look like exactly that.

Sydney smiled bashfully and bit her lip when she saw him staring, knowing that even behind the dark sunglasses he wore, his blue eyes were glossed over.

Their moment was cut short as a loud whistle cut through the heavy air. Sydney looked over and smirked in the direction that the whistle came from, seeing two toned frat boys throwing a football back and forth as they so blatantly drooled over her.

Tig grimaced, immediately regretting the bathing suit decision, it was one thing for his brothers to stare at her when they _knew_ she was his but it was another when the stares were from cocky men who didn't know who he was. He grimaced, feeling naked and vulnerable without his kutte, if he had been wearing it, there was no way the group of pussies would've cat called his woman in front of him like that. He'd never thought of himself as a man who hid behind the patch, but maybe that was because the item had become a second skin - never having any occasions or outings where he left it behind. He gulped, swallowing the bile rising in his throat as he tried to remind himself that she was his, and he would gladly show all the pussies on the beach just that.

"Hey Sergeant." Sydney cooed seductively as she approached the towels and sat down beside him.

"I shoulda booked us a private cabana." He raised a brow and lifted his sunglasses, eating her up with his eyes.

"What's the fun in that?" She slowly climbed over to him and straddled his waist. "I was hoping for _at least_ public indecency, maybe even assault." She glanced in the direction of the men who had been staring her down.

"Might just get what you're askin for…" Tig gripped her thighs tightly as he spoke.

Sydney smirked before leaning down to kiss him. "Mmm we should just go to a motel." She purred.

"Now you're gettin greedy." Tig chuckled as his hand ricocheted off of her ass with a loud clap.

"I have to admit…" She pulled away with a grin. "This is not a sight I expected to see…" She ran her hands down his exposed chest, referring to the lethal Sergeant being laid up in the sand, wearing a pair of swim trunks.

"Don't get used to it." He scoffed.

"What if I wanna get used to it…" She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as that wild look took over her.

Tig grimaced, the look in her eye telling him that she may have been serious about that public indecency charge…

"Y'aint used to it are ya?" She grinned back - referring to a woman that could keep up with his vulgarity - when he couldn't keep the grin off his face long enough to even try to perform the mock scolding he'd intended on giving her, knowing that it was completely hypocritical.

"No." He shook his head with a bashful grin. Sydney smiled, leaning in for another kiss, making to get up off of his lap when she froze - her eyes going wide. "What?" Tig's face fell in concern.

"My top came undone..." She leaned back in, whispering in his ear before leaning back with innocent eyes - gauging his reaction before she pushed further by letting the top slowly slide off of her body.

Tig moved faster than Sydney had ever seen him move once he realized what she was doing, quickly covering her tits with his hands and holding the top in place.

"You bad girl." He growled.

"You gonna take me to fix it?" She asked with the same innocent tone that made him weak, smirking when he roughly pulled her against his chest and tied the top back up, pushing her back just as roughly to adjust the front so that she was properly covered once again.

"Can't take you anywhere can I, huh doll?"

"Baby… You could _take me, _anywhere." She winked before getting up out of his lap and walking towards the blue sea before them, swinging her hips as she gathered her long hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. "You comin?" She turned to Tig who was sitting with his sunglasses off and his mouth agape, quickly getting up to follow her.

"Jesus." He shivered once his feet hit the cold water.

"Water's too hot, water's too cold. I'm beginning to think you might be hiding behind that Sergeant's patch." She teased, turning around and grabbing his hand to pull him out further into the water.

"Better watch that mouth, Princess."

"Or what?" She challenged playfully.

"Or this." He growled, lunging for her legs and slinging her up over his shoulder before taking off into deeper water as she screamed and laughed. "You done?" He asked once he was in waist deep water with her head hovering just above sea level.

"Yes!" She laughed hysterically.

"Okay then." He nodded, faking her out as he started swinging her down before crouching quickly and dunking her head under the water, bringing her back up and properly swinging her down, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He let out a loud laugh when she saw the shock on her face. "You're gonna regret that!"

'No no no no no." He smiled, trying to silence her before she shook her head, the cold water coating his exposed top half as he recoiled, ungracefully dropping her down to her feet.

"I'll give you a ten second head start." She nodded toward the deeper water. Tig chuckled but his face fell when he saw the seriousness in her expression, quickly turning and making a run for it as best as he could in the water.

Once Tig was out deep enough that he actually had to swim, he realized that it had definitely been longer than ten seconds and he didn't hear her splashing behind him. His forehead creased in confusion when he turned around to see no sign of her, no kicks or splashes to indicate that she was below the surface and heading towards him. He scanned the surface for a couple minutes, squinting from the glare of the sun that bounced off the rippling sea, his confusion deepening when she didn't resurface. He began to worry, frantically scanning the rocky ledge only a few metres away. The waves were about as calm as they could get in the ocean - not strong enough to do any real damage, but it was the only conclusion that he could draw. The seconds felt like hours as he waited until he couldn't take it anymore, swimming towards the jagged rocks.

Sydney giggled as she watched him searching for her, easily falling for the bait she'd set. She waited patiently for him to comb through the rocky wall, swimming out deeper and deeper until he eventually reached the crest of the rocky cliff that she was sitting atop, before making her move.

Tig really started panicking now - which is exactly what Sydney wanted. She smirked, knowing that his senses were peaking before she launched herself off of the rock, landing inches away from him with a giant crash into the water. Even far below the surface, she could hear him scream when she successfully startled him, racing to the surface before the bubbling laugh escaped her.

Tig felt his building heartattack subside instantly when he heard her laughing hysterically, whipping around to see that she was the cause of the nerve-frying crash into the water. The worry in his crystal blue eyes trickled away when he finally realized that she was safe and sound and had been planning this the whole time.

"Scare ya?"

"You know how close these rocks are? You could've sliced your leg right open." He addressed her carelessness rather than fearlessness, hoping to cover up the fact that he'd been worried that she'd fallen victim to a shark attack and her splashing into the water meant that he was next.

"Fuck matching tattoos, we would have matching scars." She referred to his leg wound that had healed up nicely over the past week.

"You are somethin else." He scoffed as she swam towards him, widening her eyes innocently once she approached. He'd planned on continuing his facetious scolding with how she shouldn't scare an old man, but his train of thought was lost before he could even board it. He stared at her blankly in a state of awe, a stare she still hadn't quite gotten used to.

"What?" She questioned bashfully, looking down from his eyes. Tig blinked and shook his head, coming back from his short visit to heaven.

"Uh, your eyes." He pulled her body against his and wrapped her legs around his waist as he slowly swam backward with her, but he quickly felt himself falling right back into the trance he had just pulled himself out of as he stared at the stunning seafoam green colour in her eyes being brought to life by the sun and surrounding water.

"Oh…" She smiled as her cheeks turned pink.

"You're gorgeous." He spoke with a strong sincerity that she also still hadn't gotten used to.

"So are you." Her tone was just as dreamy as his was as she let herself gaze upon her man, his dark curls wet from the salt water, eyes lighter than ever and body glistening in the sun.

"Think you're gonna get far with flattery?" He joked with a raised brow.

"I have a feeling I might." She responded with a cocky smirk.

"You just wanted to get me out here so you could take advantage of me, didn't ya?"

"You're onto me." She whispered with a grin as she leaned towards his lips, capturing them before biting down on the bottom one and pulling away as she stared into his eyes seductively.

Tig tightened his grip on her thighs before leaning in to continue the heated embrace she'd started, the temptation to fully give in was growing as she began to grind herself against him beneath the water, but he managed to pull himself away.

"And you aint gonna get onto me." He winked before pushing off of her and swimming towards the shore.

Sydney smiled and rolled her eyes before following after him, letting her body glide through the water. She truly did miss the beach; the water, the calmness she felt when she was around it, but this outing had shown her that it really wasn't as far away as it seemed.

Tig turned to grab her hand once he was out of the water and on the sand, the waves rolling over his feet when he realized that she wasn't behind him, she was a few feet out still floating on her back. He smiled, beyond pleased with himself that he had managed to come up with a day that she seemed to be enjoying so thoroughly, especially given his limited experience.

Sydney's peace as she listened to the rolling sea and stared off into the sky above her went undisturbed when Tig slowly drifted up beside her, standing on his knees in the more shallow water. She knew he was looking at her but she didn't move - smiling to acknowledge him instead, wanting to soak up the euphoria as long as she could.

He smiled in return even though she couldn't see, absorbing the sense of relief and lightness that she was radiating. He sat down so that the water was up to his chest, gently guiding her to float in front of him. They sat in silence for a while, both engulfed in their own peaceful trances as the waves gently swayed them around.

"I love you." Sydney broke the silence, a small smile on her face and she stared over the horizon where the water went on forever.

"I love you." He nodded, staring into the same vastness of the ocean.

"Water's always made me feel better." The words began rolling off of her tongue easily. "My parents used to take me to the beach everyday when I was little, before everything. It's some of the only stuff I remember about her."

There was a note of melancholy in her tone as she reminisced, but Tig couldn't help noticing the air of peace as she willingly opened up. "Tell me." He encouraged - all of his memories of his parents were of the vile, horrible, unthinkable things that took place in their home, he wanted to be able to help her remember the good, bring out some of the happiness from her past.

She smiled in appreciation for the man behind her; the man who had brought her to her favorite place, the man who wanted nothing but to make her happy, sighing happily as she rested her head back against his chest as she recounted the happy memories she had from her childhood.

"My grandpa had a beach house on Huntington Beach that me and my mom would go to every weekend. My dad would come when he could get away but a lot of the time it was just us. I don't remember a lot about back then, but I always remember being by the water." She paused, feeling the overwhelming discomfort that always accompanied the happy memories. She clutched onto her necklace as she forced herself to let the words flow freely without altering them.

"She was a good mom..." It was clear from her tone that she was still hurt and confused immensely by her mother choosing drugs and abuse over a happy family. "She was so good at making things seem normal. Like we were a normal family doing normal things, like she was a normal wife. We looked like the American dream, people never would've guessed the kind of lifestyle that we lived at home." She felt the tightening in her throat and decided she had done good enough, steering the memories elsewhere.

"I wasn't allowed there after everything but, I would make Happy take me back every chance I got." She chuckled at the memory of the grumbling Tacoma Killer being guilted by the little girl. Tig chuckled along with her at the thought of Happy being ruled by a child. He could see exactly how it would go down with the way that Sydney still had him so tightly wrapped around her finger.

"You ever get caught?"

"No." Sydney smiled, gently caressing his hands. Even after she was banned from her personal slice of heaven, she always managed to make it there undetected - feeling like it was a sign that it was where the universe intended for her to be. "I'd make Hap sit there for hours, he couldn't wear his kutte and sometimes he'd have to pose as my big brother to blend in - building sandcastles and swimming." Tig cackled loudly at the idea of Happy trying to look like a normal beach dweller. Sydney giggled, she loved the sound of his laugh.

"Once I got my license, I would drive out there almost every night. I didn't give a shit how much gas or sleep I lost doing it." She smiled sadly. "My favorite time of day would be just before sunset, when the air starts to cool down and everyone goes inside for dinner. I'd sit on the beach and listen to the sound of the waves with my feet in the sand, the cool air soothing my inevitable sunburn." She chuckled. "Watch the sunset with the smell of a home cooked meal... There's nothing in this world that beats that." She fought the sadness of nostalgia. "That's the only thing I miss about home." She concluded her session of divulgence - the way he listened to her so intently and allowed her to speak making it much easier to get through.

"You should show me one day… Sounds like I could use a place like that." Tig nodded. He'd never been lucky enough to find a location like Sydney described, but what he _had_ found was a similar peace in her.

Sydney looked up at him for the first time since he'd come back into the water with her, her eyes bright and hopeful. "I'd really like that." She smiled. He returned her smile and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"You about ready to head back to shore, Captain?"

"Only if you promise there will be lots of _seamen _there." Tig chewed his tongue, holding back his laugh at her clever response before pulling her to her feet and walking her towards their beach towels.

Sydney stretched out across the fluffy blue and white towel, enjoying the warm sun on her wet, chilled skin. Coincidentally, another one of her favorite things to do was suntan - Tig had really hit a homerun.

"I'm gonna have to thank you real good for this." She spoke with her eyes closed and her face tilted towards the sun, the suggestiveness heavy in her tone.

"You're really pullin out all the stops to get me naked aren't ya?" She smirked but kept her eyes closed, seeing that he was carrying on with his decision to be a prude for the day.

"This what you were talking to Clay about?" She opened her eyes as she broke the silence after quite some time in the sun, turning over onto her stomach. Tig opened his eyes, his head lifting from where it had been resting on his hands, staring at her blankly.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah it was." He nodded quickly.

Something ticked in her brain briefly, telling her that his answer didn't seem as sincere as it should've but she brushed it off, thinking maybe he didn't realize what she meant at first - especially since it was sprung on him so suddenly.

"We could go grab some dinner at one of the restaurants." Tig changed the subject, knowing that she would surely sniff him out if he didn't.

"Is that what you wanna do?" She asked gently with a raised eyebrow, knowing full well that the Sergeant at Arms likely wasn't a 'napkin on the lap with a glass of wine' kind of guy - which is exactly what all of the fancy seaside restaurants were full of - but not wanting to come off as rude or ungrateful.

"I wanna do whatever will make you happy, baby." Tig didn't mind sucking it up if it was what she wanted - he'd figured that having a girlfriend meant he would have to succumb to domestic activity sooner or later, it may as well be when he was ready and willing.

"What I want." She smirked, climbing into his lap. "Is for you to remember that I'm biker trash just as much as you are." She whispered in his ear.

_Now_ she was pulling out all the stops to get him hot and bothered - sitting in his lap, tickling the sensitive skin of his neck _and_ telling him he didn't have to sit through a fancy dinner? Maybe he would give in after all...

"That's all you gotta tell me as a thank you for today." He chuckled. "Wanna get dressed and see what they got on the boardwalk? I'm starving." Sydney smiled and nodded, grabbing her clothes and making her way to the changing rooms.

She changed much quicker this time - her empty stomach serving as motivation. She slipped her clothes back on and fluffed her sun-dried hair with her fingers before walking back out to meet Tig.

The pair walked hand in hand as they set off towards the bike to drop their damp bathing suits, earning some scowls from passersby along the way.

"Haven't they seen beauty and the beast?" Tig asked in her ear.

"I guess not." Sydney joked back, completely unphased by the dirty looks - if anything, they amused her.

"Doesn't bother ya?" He couldn't help but ask, knowing she was the one being judged more so than he was.

"The stares? Fuck no. We should turn it into a drinking game." Tig grinned, never failing to feel like he had hit the jackpot when he scored the San Bernardino girl.

"What d'ya feel like eatin?" Tig asked once they approached the boardwalk, the wood clunking beneath their boots. Sydney just looked him up and down in response with a dirty smirk on her face, making him smirk and shake his head - not giving into her antics. "How about-"

"I want a corndog." She cut him off when the brilliant idea came to her, seeing his eyes widen.

"You gotta be kidding me…" She shook her head, looking up at him with those innocent eyes. He snarled, leading her to one of the food trucks and ordering her damn corndog - knowing that he would regret it.

"Lets get some ice cream and go sit on the beach?" Tig suggested with a nod towards the slowly setting sun. Sydney smiled and nodded, knowing that he was doing the best he could to recreate the blissful scene she'd described.

"I don't think they got any of your half baked shit here." Tig teased as they approached the ice cream truck, ordering chocolate for himself as the limited selection also excluded his first choice. The older woman wearing a hairnet and scooping ice cream looked to Sydney impatiently for her order.

"Strawberry please, in a waffle cone." She noticed the wandering eyes of the woman while she got their order together, clearly trying to figure out what was happening between the young girl and older man. She handed the cones over, looking between the pair disapprovingly. "Thanks dad." Sydney turned to Tig.

Tig's brow began to crease but he quickly caught on. "You're welcome, babygirl." He husked, leaning down to kiss her briefly on the lips, lingering long enough to confuse the woman even more as she winced in disgust. Sydney cackled eviley, Tig joining in and shaking his head as they took off towards the sand.

"You dirty girl." He purred in her ear with a smirk.

"You gonna punish me daddy?" She asked with a smirk and she sat down.

Before Tig could answer, Sydney wrapped her lips around the corndog, looking up at him with those wide, expectant eyes. He couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips as his pants tightened when he was met with the look like he knew all too well.

"Might have to…"

Sydney smiled and bit down, snapping the corndog and winking before she began chewing. Tig just chuckled and shook his head, turning his attention to the box full of shrimp tacos he'd ordered.

"Want one?" He offered the box towards her, purposely having ordered more than he could eat - knowing that the single corndog she'd ordered just to fuck with him would not satisfy her appetite.

"Mhmm." She nodded, reaching for a taco. "That corndog wasn't big enough... I need something more filling." She pouted, jutting out her lips and peering up at him through her lashes.

Tig stared at her knowingly, chewing on his lips as he grumbled to himself, refusing to give in as she pushed harder and harder.

As they ate the sun began to set lower and lower, creating that peaceful haze that Sydney spoke of. She felt the tears coming to her eyes in a mix of immense happiness and bitter nostalgia.

"Thank you." She choked out.

"You're welcome, baby." He spoke full of care, putting his arm around her and bringing her closer. "Figured you deserved a good day." Sydney swallowed the instinctive comment her brain had formed about not needing pity after the Oswald incident, for the sake of the good day.

Her slight tense likely would've gone unnoticed by anyone else, but Tig had gotten _very_ familiar with her body over the past weeks - he could sense even the smallest change.

"Y'aint as good at hiding your feelings from me, as you think you are." He scoffed, giving her a pointed look with a raised brow.

"I know, why do you think it pisses me off so much." She laughed through watery eyes, Tig laughed too, he was glad that at least they could laugh about their issues rather than ignoring them altogether and allowing them to eat their relationship alive.

Sydney snuggled closer into his side as the light breeze rolled off of the sea, carrying the cooler temperature of the water along with it as it cut through the warm air. Tig smiled and pulled her in tighter as they stared into the distance, the sky quickly changing from orange and pink to blue and purple as the sun made it's final descent.

Sydney pulled her boots off, sinking her red painted toes into the cool sand as she closed her eyes, inhaling the salty air as it lightly blew her hair back. She felt a clench in her heart, recognizing the feeling she had missed so much.

"This is it, isn't it?" Tig knew by the way her body relaxed, the relief washing over her small frame.

"Almost." She smiled with her eyes closed, savoring the moment as long as she could.

Tig closed his eyes, realizing why she missed home so much - the euphoria of dusk at the beach on a warm day coupled with her in his arms brought him to the same heavenly trance that she was in.

"What happened to it?" Your grandpa's place."

"He still owns it. Once I started making real money with SAMDINO I kept an eye on it, hoping it would go up for sale but it never did. I know it'll stay in the family forever, probably go to my douchebag private school cousins."

"I bet you could convince em to give it to ya." Tig winked, knowing how easily she scared grown men - let alone some pretty frat boys.

"Y'aint wrong." She smirked. "I don't know… Something about it just fucks with me. I'd rather stay away from them, go through an anonymous buyer if it ever went up for sale."

Tig nodded, understanding all too well that no matter how fearless someone was, family would always challenge that. He hugged her close to his side before loosening his grip and getting a start on his melting ice cream.

"Been spending too much time with me, huh?" She smirked, referring to her preference of melted ice cream.

"You're rubbin off on me, soon I'm gonna start doin cartwheels."

She laughed. "I'll get ya nice and flexible for me." She winked before licking a long stripe along her dripping ice cream cone.

"You really gonna pick now to start eating it normally?" He winced, shocked that this girl seemed to never-ending tricks up her sleeve.

"What's the matter Tiggy? I thought you would be proud of me." She pouted, swirling her tongue over the frozen treat. He didn't speak, just stared at her mouth with wide eyes.

After finishing their ice cream the sun had fully set and the lights from the boardwalk lit up the strip while the moon reflected off of the sea. "Let's walk the boardwalk and then get outta here." Tig suggested as he pulled Sydney up from the sand, who nodded happily.

The pair strolled along the boardwalk - soaking up the last bit of the perfect day. Tig smiled as he took a moment to enjoy what exactly was happening: him, walking on the boardwalk with the perfect girl on his arm, the warm air laced with the sweet smell of carnival food and the flashing lights surrounding them. He stopped, yanking her arm towards him and bringing her in for a kiss as he engulfed her with his arms. She smiled against his mouth once she realized what was happening, feeling every bit of emotion that he was pouring into the embrace.

"I love you." He nodded sincerely after pulling away, holding her face in his hands as he stared at her with those crystal blue eyes - the colourful lights bouncing off of them.

"I love you too." She replied just as sincerely, almost in a state of awe with a permanent smile on her face.

Tig wished all days could be like today, where the stress of the club was the second thing on his mind instead of the first. He loved the club and loved being a Son - but when shit got heavy, being a member of substantial ranking meant that the burden fell on his shoulders. He briefly wondered if that would cause problems between him and Sydney - since she was so deep with the club, wondering if the heavy shit they both dealt with would put a strain on their relationship, prohibiting them from being the other's escape. He shoved the worry into the back of his mind, today was a _good_ day.

"We can stay and get a hotel if you want? Or head back if you don't wanna wear the same clothes tomorrow." Tig was happy to do whatever she wanted but preferred the idea of spending the night as he was in no rush to return to the chaos back home, not caring about something as little as having to wear the same clothes two days in a row.

"You think too highly of me." Sydney chuckled. Despite how she looked and carried herself, she could get down and dirty with the boys - there wasn't much that would phase her. "I'd love to, but you've spoiled me so much already…" She trailed off bashfully. She didn't mind him spending his money on her - she wasn't one of those shy, polite girls who declined chivalrous actions from men. He was a grown man and he could decide what he wanted to spend his money on, she just wanted him to know that it wasn't a requirement for being with her, especially since she sported the notorious 'gold digger' look.

"You kiddin baby? I'm spoilin myself." He smirked at her, making her smile just as genuinely and whole-heartedly as she had been all day, loving the way he implied that spending time with her was a treat for himself.

* * *

**A fluffy chapter? Is one of my favorites? Shocking.**


	22. Drunk in Love

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 22: DRUNK IN LOVE**

"Where d'you wanna stay baby?" Tig asked Sydney as they buckled their helmets while the engine of his Dyna roared to life below them.

"Hmmm…" Sydney hummed as she pressed herself against his back, slowly sliding herself up until her lips reached his ear. "I want you to take me to a cheap motel and fuck me like a dirty whore." Tig grimaced as the filthy words left her pretty lips, his pants instantly feeling two sizes smaller.

"You know, you make me look modest..."

"Yeah, I do… You gotta keep up that reputation Sergeant. People might think you've gone domestic. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Tig chuckled, regardless of the wrench that she'd thrown into his plans by constantly challenging his dominance, his reputation wasn't going anywhere as long as he had something to do with it.

"Sit that ass down and hang on." Sydney smirked, doing exactly as she was told by wrapping her body around his like a second skin, resting her hands on his belt buckle.

"Tight enough, Tiggy?" He sucked in a breath as her innocently sweet voice flooded his ears, willing himself not to bend her over the damn bike right there.

After a short drive they pulled into the lot of a motel not far from the boardwalk. The rundown building was close enough to the ocean that they could hear the crashing waves as they strolled across the parking lot to the check-in booth where Tig placed a few bills on the counter to cover the room.

"You sure this is okay?" He asked skeptically with a raised brow while he stood in the doorway of the dingy motel room. He didn't give a shit where he slept - the mediocre room was better than most of the beds he'd slept in over the years, but he didn't believe that the high maintenance woman standing next to him could possibly feel the same.

"I told you." Sydney scoffed, pushing past him. "You think too highly of me." She walked straight over to the bed, flopping down onto her back.

Tig chuckled. "Alright, I'm gonna go grab some beer." He nodded towards the liquor store next door.

"Hurry back." She cooed seductively with an evil smirk.

Tig grumbled as he pulled the door shut, dreading whatever temptation he would be faced with when he returned. He'd wanted nothing more all day long than to take her in every way imaginable and holding back was killing him, but if there was anything he'd learned about Sydney - it was that she loved a good power struggle, and this game was the best way to keep her focus off of the bullshit that had clouded her mind recently.

Sydney took the time that he was gone to scope out the room for a new tactic to get him to cave. She located the TV remote, deciding that she would go with something more laid back, knowing that he was now expecting more from her. She eyed the large tub in the bathroom during her stake out, wondering how much sweet talking it would take to convince him to have a bath with her. She briefly pondered switching up her tactic and taking a bath with the door open where he could see her from the bed, but decided that she would save that one for tomorrow.

Tig returned a few minutes later with a six-pack and a bottle of wine, opening the door to see Sydney sitting on the bed cross legged, paying attention to the TV as if her life depended on it. He scowled, looking from her face to the source of her focus, which was an old school porno playing on the old box TV.

"You makin plans without me, Angel?" He asked with a raised brow, trying to keep the smirk off of his face.

"Just tryin to plan my night baby, but it seems like you had other plans…" She glanced down to the plastic bag in his hand.

"Yeah, turn that shit off." He gestured to the TV, quickly brushing off her surprisingly weak attempt to seduce him as he unloaded the contents of the bag. "Got some of that girly shit you like." He held out the bottle to her.

"It's called rosé." She drew out theatrically with a chuckle, quickly getting to work popping the cork and taking a swig.

"Guess I didn't think to get a glass…" Tig looked around the cheap motel room even though he knew it would only be equipped with the absolute minimum, wine glasses not included.

"I aint complainin." She chuckled at his concern.

Tig smiled and reached for the TV remote, channel surfing for the most unromantic, PG rated movie he could find, settling on Saving Private Ryan.

"Ugh, Tiggy come on!" She whined at his film choice. "The porn was way better than this." She pleaded with a studious pout as he stood next to the bed where she was kneeling.

"What's the matter babe?" He chuckled. "You don't like a classic war movie?" He sat down on the edge of the bed and began getting comfortable by kicking off his boots.

"Oh no, I love a classic war movie. What I don't love, is Saving Private Ryan." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"What?" He exclaimed in offence, whipping around to face her. "Saving Private Ryan is _the_ war movie."

"Fuck that! Band of Brothers, Pearl Harbour, Behind Enemy Lines, Full Metal Jacket, are _all_ better than that pansy shit. You just don't get out enough." Her tone went from playfully argumentative to playfully innocent, flipping her hair to add to the dramatics.

Tig responded with a knowing stare and a smirk as he set the remote down on the nightstand next to him, signalling that Sydney would be suffering through the movie the same way that she had made him suffer through the same damn Marvel movie, multiple times.

"I'll remember this…" She let her eyes linger on him before finally turning her head to focus on the TV. "At least it's half over."

"It's on again after this." He replied casually as he kicked his feet up and sat back against the headboard.

"Ugh." She groaned, burying her face into a pillow. "Well." She perked up, lifting her head and rising to her knees, grabbing the beer out of his hand and setting it onto the nightstand as she straddled his hips. "Guess that means we have time to kill before it starts." She smirked, grinding herself down against his pelvis.

He smirked, smoothing his hands up her denim covered thighs and humming deep in his throat. "Think you've been patient enough?" His hands travelled over her hips, up her waist, snaking around her back and yanking her down, holding her to hover just above his lips.

"I've been a good girl today, Sergeant." She whispered with innocence inhabiting her demeanor.

He brought her even closer to his lips, halting right before they met as he flipped her over onto her back, a gasp of excitement slipping from her lips when the scratchy motel sheets made contact with her skin. She closed her eyes when he began leaning in again, but they quickly flew open when his lips brushed against the sensitive skin on her jaw instead of her lips.

"Not good enough." He smirked, playfully nipping at her neck before pulling away and resuming his previous position in front of the TV. She just rolled her eyes, swiping the bottle of wine off the nightstand next to her and gulping it back.

"Drink!" Sydney hollered as she pointed at the TV, bouncing in place.

"No way, that wasn't a headshot!" Tig protested just as loudly.

Sydney had decided that if she was going to have to suffer, she might as well have fun with it - having turned watching the boring movie into a drinking game. One noise complaint, a bottle of wine, and a case of beer later - the first showing of the movie had ended and they were currently halfway through the second one, both thoroughly drunk thanks to her generous game rules.

"Was too!" She stuck her tongue out at him before chugging more wine. "You just don't wanna drink, you pussy." She slurred.

"Gimme that." He growled, grabbing the wine from her and gulping the last of it.

"Now you drank it all." Sydney pouted, holding onto her feet in her cross legged position and rolling onto her side, laughing when she fell over.

Tig laughed hysterically, the alcohol fueling both of their actions. "Okay, okay. You're off the hook now." He referred to the fact that they had reached the point in the second showing of the movie where they had initially started in the first one.

"Thank god!" She sprawled her arms and legs out in victory, almost kicking Tig in the face, which only sent her further into her state of hysteria.

"Not much else on." He stated after he finished laughing, shutting off the TV and tossing the remote across the bed in defeat.

"As long as you can't pick." She chuckled. "You know… We could make our own movie."

"There's an idea…"

Sydney smirked with her eyes closed, staying silent - refusing to give in so easily now that his facade had finally begun to break. He smiled as he watched her falling asleep with her head at the foot of the bed, his own eyes feeling heavy from the alcohol.

"See! You are a pussy." He was startled awake by Sydney's voice, realizing he'd begun to doze off.

She laughed at the way his eyes flew open and tried to refocus in the dimly lit room before standing up from the bed and stretching with her arms above her head before ripping off her top and getting to work unbuttoning her jeans with her back facing him.

"W-what're ya doin?" Tig choked out, his eyes popping out of his head when she abruptly began shedding her clothes. She looked over her shoulder at him as she slid down her jeans.

"Well, I don't got any clothes to sleep in." She shook her head as if he should've known.

He coughed a few times, trying to gain his composure but not having the strength to take his eyes off of her. Once she was completely naked she grabbed at the corner of the duvet and crawled underneath it.

"You gonna sleep in that?" She asked, keeping up the casual act as she referred to his black jeans and button up.

Tig looked down at his attire in his state of bewilderment, realizing she had a point that he hadn't considered. Once he'd slowly stripped down to his boxers, he turned back to see her asleep again.

"Hey! You aint gonna wake me up, just to fall asleep." He whined as he crawled under the covers and pulled her close to him.

"You want me to keep you up Tiggy?" She tilted her head back to look at him while her fingers danced across his chest. He didn't answer, glaring down at her as he felt his dick springing to life, unable to take the restraint any longer.

Of course he didn't _actually_ plan on keeping up his act of celibacy, he just didn't want her to think that she had won yet. She was right - he _did_ have a reputation to uphold and so far, the little blonde girl had cost him some serious street cred.

"Fine. Smoke?" She asked with the same exaggerated innocence, rolling onto her knees and leaning down off the bed to grab her pack from her jacket with her ass in the air.

It was game over. Tig sat up as soon as she exposed herself, pressing his tongue to her slit from behind. Sydney gasped as she felt the warmth of his mouth on her so quickly, the mind numbing effect of the alcohol had intensified the welcome surprise.

"You didn't _really_ think I wasn't gonna fuck you, did you Princess?" He caressed her ass as he spoke before going back in.

"Mmmm no daddy." She moaned. "But." She extended her leg, her foot pressing against his chest and pushing him down to the mattress before turning around and crawling on top of him. "Did you really think I was gonna give in that easily after you made me wait all day." Her raspy voice was hot and seductive, lowering her mouth to his in a heated kiss, his hands gripping her hips harshly as their tongues battled for dominance. Tig sat them up and pulled away with a grin.

"What?" Sydney bit her lip bashfully under his gaze.

"You are like sunshine and..." He tried to find the right words to describe the happiness and excitement that she brought to his life while his smile beamed and his curls bounced, shaking his head in awe. "Whiskey." He concluded with a chuckle.

"Tequila sunrise." She winked.

"I love you." He stated, grin still wide as ever.

"I love you." She replied dreamily as her eyes slid over him, she could've happily spent the rest of her life staring at him.

He wound his fingers into her hair, leaning to recapture her lips, making his stomach flip the same way that it had over the past few weeks. He wondered if the passion would ever die out between their encounters, because every time he touched her - she still made him feel the same excitement that he felt the first night in the bathroom at the clubhouse.

She could feel the depth in the embrace which she reciprocated, hoping to show her appreciation for everything he'd done for her today. She ran her fingers through the curls at the back of his neck, the soft feeling only filling her with more emotion.

He shivered under her gentle touch, the anticipation growing along with his dick as she sat naked on top of him, touching him like glass. He reached behind his neck, grabbing her hands gently and sliding them over his shoulders before bringing them his lips, kissing her knuckles.

Sydney let her heavy eyelids droop down in her haze as he peered up at her with his eyes glazed over, spreading her fingers over his face and cupping his jaw to stroke his cheekbones with her thumbs. Tig smiled weakly, resting his forehead on her shoulder to avoid eye contact as she stared at him so lovingly - the alcohol telling him that he wasn't worthy. His senses perked up and the blanket of doubt was whisked away when he felt arms around him and Sydney burying her face into the crook of his neck. He smiled and laid back with her in his arms, stroking her hair and rubbing her back as they both drifted off to sleep.

_Tig was tearing down the I5, the sun on his face and the wind in his hair with the little brunette holding onto him tightly, giggling as he swerved in and out of traffic with a grin on his face. They had just rounded yet another honking vehicle, overtaking it with ease. Tig could hear her laughing above the commotion, laughing the exact same way that she had when he first got the bike and took her for a ride. They rounded a bend, the bike leaning enough to scare anyone, but she just squealed with joy, she knew Tig would keep her safe. _

_That was when traffic came to a screeching halt before them, all lanes blocked with nowhere to go and no time to stop. Tig hadn't had any other options other than to lay the bike down, sliding across the grassy median before he'd even realized what he'd done._

Sydney was awoken from her peaceful slumber by her mattress jostling her around. When she came to her senses, she found herself next to Tig who was tossing and turning, sweating violently and shaking as he appeared to be having a nightmare.

_Horns, sirens, and screams were blaring all around him as his ears rang, blood pouring from the gash in his head and clouding his vision. When he came to, he found himself in a stretcher being wheeled to an ambulance._

"_Jules?" He mumbled._

Sydney scowled when she heard the mumbled name slip from his lips as he continued tossing about, wondering who this person was and what was happening behind his closed eyes.

_That's when he saw it. Her. The body bag being zipped up._

"_No!" He screamed hysterically, thrashing against the weak stretcher he'd been strapped to. _

"_Tig." The paramedic said quietly, the sound echoing in his ears. "Tig, baby."_

Tig's eyes flew open as he gasped for air, seeing Sydney sitting on top of him running her hands through his hair, gently lulling him awake. "Wha-" He began to question, tears immediately springing to his eyes as his throat locked. It'd been years since he'd dreamt about _her._

"Shhh…" She hushed him, brushing the tears out of the corners of his eyes. "You were just having a bad dream." She eased herself off of him, getting out of bed and slipping on his shirt to grab some water once she was comfortable that he was stable, letting him catch his breath and familiarize himself with his surroundings.

As soon as she was out of the room, Tig began hyperventilating - it had been years since he'd seen her, heard her, _felt_ her. He didn't know how to process these emotions, nor did he want to. Swiping angrily at his watery eyes, he sat up - running his hands over his face and gripping his hair tight, slowly releasing it when he realized he needed to get out of this room. He pulled on his jeans and was in the middle of lacing up a boot when Sydney came back with her empty wine bottle, full of cold water. He chuckled, taking it from her gratefully and taking a gulp before slipping on his other boot.

Sydney knew all too well what kind of nightmares this life brought with it, she knew how difficult they could be; the shit they could show you, the shit they could make you feel, the shit they could remind you of... She knew he needed space to cool off and that smothering would only make things worse for a guy like Tig who struggled with feelings and transparency as it was, but she couldn't ignore the pang she felt in her heart when she saw the tears glistening in his eyes as he got up to leave the room, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it.

Tig walked over to where Sydney sat on the bed cross-legged and wearing his shirt, stunned with no idea how to handle the situation. He hated himself for once again ruining the moment, the pained look on her face only bringing more tears to his eyes. He sat down, cautiously reaching for her hand, squeezing his eyes shut and praying that she wouldn't pull away.

"I uh-" He coughed, clearing his throat once his hand made contact with her and she grasped it tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm gonna go have a smoke, take a walk. You should get some sleep, I don't wanna keep you up." He stood, leaning to press a kiss to her temple before turning toward the door.

She knew that his distant tone was just a coping mechanism and that it wasn't personal, but in her delirious state of still being half drunk, half asleep, and exhausted from the day - it stung. She nodded, keeping her head down and her eyes focused on the floral print of the duvet, waiting until she heard the door close behind him to squeeze her eyes shut and let the tears flow, smacking the mattress with an angry fist and crying even harder.

Tig was on his fourth cigarette, listening to the waves crashing against the shore with his feet in the sand as tears poured down his face under the moonlight. He knew that the ride to Santa Cruz was exactly what had triggered the memory that he had spent decades trying to bury.

"I'm sorry baby…" He whispered into the wind, flicking the cigarette butt into the sand and closing his eyes, taking a deep breath and pushing the heinous memory of what he had done back into the depths of his mind where it belonged. He stayed in the position for much longer than intended, only when the darkness around him began to lighten did he open his eyes and realize that the sun was starting to rise.

Sydney had fallen asleep quickly after her outburst, the spent emotions putting her in a sleep deep enough that she hadn't heard Tig enter the room, only waking when she felt the bed dipping behind her and him pulling her close.

"I'm so sorry, Angel…" He apologized with his face buried in the back of her neck. She lightly caressed the hand that was resting on her stomach to let him know that she was awake. "You were right. The beach does help." He silently prayed that she wouldn't ask, knowing that he didn't have the mental strength to come up with a lie.

She didn't know what to say and she knew better than to ask so she nodded with a smile, happy that he had found some comfort.

"Alexander."

"Hmm?" She questioned as the second unfamiliar name of the night was thrown her way.

"My real name." He didn't quite know if he was telling her because he wanted her to know more about him - the _real_ him, or if he was using it as a diversion from what he didn't want to tell her.

"You do _not _look like an Alexander." She giggled. She could've looked over his TM records easily if she wanted to find out his real name so badly, but that was one of the few details she had willed herself not to uncover when she arrived in Charming and quickly discovered her feelings for him, knowing that if he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

Tig chuckled, glad that she wasn't asking questions and was giving a semi-normal response.

"You should tell me about her some day." She said quietly, sincerely after a while in silence.

Tig tensed, half at the thought of having to talk about her, and the other half at the fact that Sydney had managed to piece everything together, and wasn't upset. He loosened up, nodding against her neck and pressing a kiss to her shoulder before falling back asleep.

* * *

**Shoutout to Georgia and CJ for the inspo, as well as making it absolutely impossible for me to think that Tig's old lady was named anything other than Juliet**


	23. Shipment

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 23: SHIPMENT**

"Tiggy get up." Tig chuckled at the sound of Sydney's whining, not opening his eyes or making any effort to move. "We have to get back." She urged, peering at the clock on the nightstand, which displayed 11:00 A.M.

Tig had paid for late checkout during his hiatus only a few hours earlier, knowing that he would be tired and wanting to take his time after the emotionally trying night. He smiled again as Sydney poked him in the side when he didn't move, pretending to be asleep.

"You're a bad actor, now come on." She laughed.

"Come on baby." He grumbled, turning onto his side and swiftly grabbing her, pulling her across his hips. "You really in a hurry to get back to all that moving?" He asked with sleepy eyes and a lazy grin.

Sydney melted when she heard that grumbly, raspy, sleepy voice and felt his hands on her - the excitement dipping down between her legs where she was sat on top of him, his morning erection rubbing against her exposed pussy with only his boxers as a barrier between them. She smiled and shook her head with her eyes squinted once she realized that part of his plan all along was to duck out of the hard labour that everyone would be subject to today as the club took over their new gun warehouse.

"So I was just your scapegoat all along-" She was cut off by him abruptly sitting up and taking off towards the bathroom with her in his arms - giggling until he set her on the counter. She whimpered when he pulled away, the cold air hitting her body which was only clothed with the unbuttoned shirt of his. "What're ya doin?"

"I saw you eyein this shit up last night." He groaned as he yanked on the faucet handle, a strong stream of hot water coming crashing down and beginning to fill the giant tub.

Sydney smiled, her grin widening as he walked back over to her - his hands smoothing up her bare thighs and slipping under the shirt to grip her waist, descending his lips onto hers. She moaned into his mouth, the sensations being heightened by her sensitive body, the anticipation of the day before, and the relief after the night's events.

When Tig went to pull away, he caught a glimpse in the mirror behind where Sydney was perched on the counter and _boy_ was it a pretty sight. The thin fabric of his shirt was draped over her body and had gathered over her ass, exposing her to him. He stared into the mirror, his hands slowly kneading her skin, entranced by the firsthand sight of himself with his hands on her.

Sydney looked up to him when he slowed his actions, quickly realizing what had stolen his attention. She looked over her shoulder, meeting his eyes with a smirk before she drew her legs up against his calves, over his knees and up his thighs before spreading them wide open and resting her heels on the counter. Next she dropped her shoulders and let his shirt fall from her small frame before running her hands down his chest, going lower and lower until she reached her destination, delicately sliding inside his boxers and gripping his hard cock in both of her hands as he watched the entire scene unfold in the mirror.

He managed to pry his glossy eyes away from the heavenly sight, looking down to see an equally appealing one as Sydney sat naked, looking up at him with those irresistible puppy dog eyes. A rush of arousal coursed through his veins, a shiver taking over his entire body before he lowered his mouth to hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth and placing a hand on the mirror behind her while the other one went to her jaw, holding her exactly where he wanted her.

"You." His mouth began a hot trail beginning at her jaw. "Dirty." He whispered in her ear, making her moan. "Little." He mouthed against her neck before nipping at it. "Girl." He lined himself up with her opening and pushed all the way inside of her, a breathless scream of surprise coming from her before a wicked expression of pleasure overtook her face. He chuckled, slowly beginning to thrust hard and deep as he watched himself fuck her in the mirror.

"You love fucking my tight little pussy, you dirty old man." She rasped out between moans with her lips and tongue grazing his neck, feeling him swelling inside her after she'd said the dirty words

"More than anything, baby." He lowered his hand, pressing his thumb to her clit and rubbing slow circles into it as he kept up his pace.

Sydney moaned, whimpered and writhed as he finally gave her exactly what she had been asking for, in a way better than she ever could've imagined. The erotic scenario only made every thrust that much more intense and before she knew it, his hands were gripping her ass and she was being hoisted into his arms as he continued his minustrations, sliding her up and down his dick while he watched in the mirror.

"Mmm Tiggy, I'm gonna cum." She moaned, clutching onto him while her nails dug into his back and she bit into his neck, wanting his to be just as good as she knew hers was going to be.

His thrusting got faster as he began to lose his restraint when she bit his neck, effectively bringing her to the edge and tumbling down at the exact same time as they both moaned through their releases. He leant up against the bathroom wall, still inside of her while he held her in his arms, a nut that good being too much for him to want to move right away - the only thing prompting him was the almost spilling bathtub. Setting her down in the water, he shut off the taps before climbing in behind her and wrapping his legs around her.

"You sure you aint a pornstar?"

"I don't know baby... I think we could put Johnny and Kissa to shame." She looked back at him with a smirk.

He raised an eyebrow. "If you wanted to make some home movies doll, all you had to do was ask."

"I seem to remember asking last night, but you wanted to play hard to get." She teased, turning around to press a playful kiss against his lips before resuming her position in front of him.

"You already got me givin' it up daily like a damn whore." They shared a laugh before Tig sighed, leaning back and pulling her against his chest, the post sex afterglow had him feeling a little extra grateful that she was so understanding and seemed to know exactly what he needed and when.

After a long bath and afternoon breakfast at a diner down the road, Tig and Sydney were ready to start their journey back to Charming, hoping to beat rush hour. Tig hesitated as she climbed onto the bike, brushing it off and willing himself to believe that whatever God there was, certainly wasn't cruel enough to put him through the same thing twice.

Sydney didn't say anything about his hesitance, but the much more careful pace he took on the way back had started to paint a clearer picture for her of just what his nightmare was about, wondering how much of it was 'just a dream', and how much of it was a repressed memory.

The pair made it back to Charming safe and sound, pulling into Sydney's driveway. She hugged him once her feet were on the ground, burying her nose in his neck and wishing that she didn't have to let go.

"Thank you again Tiggy." She mumbled, inhaling his fading scent from the night away.

"I'm glad I could make you happy, Angel." He rubbed her back as she leant against him. "I'm gonna give my bike a wash, you could wear that bikini and come help me, gimme my effort's worth." He winked as he rolled out of the driveway.

She grinned and shook her head before heading inside, shedding her clothes as soon as she locked the door, wanting to be rid of the two day old riding outfit. She carried her worn clothing to the laundry room before skipping up the stairs happily to begin getting ready for the meeting with McKeevy.

About an hour later, Sydney pulled onto the compound in her Challenger as the day was beginning to wind down. She stepped out of the car, smiling as her Louboutins lifted her off of the ground after days of being condemned to combat boots. Between the golden sun on her skin, the getaway with Tig, and her heels clacking along the pavement - she was feeling like herself again.

"Damn babe, that's not exactly what I had in mind but…" Tig gawked at her from his crouched position on the concrete in the garage as he waxed his bike, admiring her tight black jeans and cropped black and red graphic tank top, her leather jacket slung over her shoulder in the heat.

"I'll wear white next time and we can have a wet t-shirt contest." She winked.

"You sure you wanna put yourself up for ridicule like that? You know I'll win." He got to his feet with a playful grin on his face.

"I'd be happy to lose if it meant I got to see you like that…" She walked her fingers up his chest, over the black t-shirt he was wearing before he grabbed them, smiling bashfully at her flirting.

"Jesus Christ." Bobby winced from the entrance to the garage. "You just had a twenty-four hour fuck fest and you're still all over eachother?"

"Fuck fest'll do that to ya." Sydney replied simply, trailing her hand down Tig's chest, over his crotch and eventually gripping onto his fingers, pulling him toward the clubhouse with her, greeting everyone around the compound as they all attempted to carry on business as usual before McKeevy's arrival.

"Sydney, can I have a minute?" Clay nodded to the chapel when he noticed that his Sergeant had returned. Sydney was surprised by the request, letting go of Tig's hand and following the older man through the oak doors.

"What's up?" She asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"It's uh... Been brought to my attention that the way I handled the Oswald shit yesterday wasn't exactly fair."

Her brows furrowed for a second before it clicked. _That_ was what Tig was really talking to Clay about yesterday, and that was why he tripped up when she'd asked.

"Oh." She began rapidly shaking her head. "No it's fine. Clay I didn't ask him to-."

"Doesn't matter." He silenced the words that were coming out of her mouth at a million miles per second. "Point is, I was wrong. Let my shit with Oswald get in the way. We never woulda had that blackmail if it wasn't for you."

"I appreciate it, but really - I knew it meant something to you to do this… Plus, you would've known if I was mad" She raised her brows playfully. She greatly respected that her President was allowing his pride to take a hit over her feelings, but she didn't want him to think that she was crying to Tig every time something didn't go her way.

"That's true." Clay chucked. "I figured it wasn't coming from you. Tig… He cares about you."

"Yeah… I'm seeing that." She spoke sarcastically with a soft smile.

"You think of somethin I can do to make up for it and you let me know."

"Well…" She looked to him expectantly as she swayed back and forth like a little girl begging to open her Christmas presents early.

"Get outta here!" He exclaimed in mock frustration as he shooed her away, knowing exactly what she was referring to.

"Fine." She laughed with her hands up in surrender. "I'll let ya off the hook if you pay those speeding tickets from the charity run."

"Deal." He chuckled at the ruthless woman.

Tig was hiding around the corner in the hallway, hoping to remain out of Sydney's warpath that surely would begin the second that Clay outed him. He was surprised to see her exit the chapel laughing, hoping that meant that he was off the hook. Besides, he was only trying to get her what she deserved.

He walked out to the bar with his newfound confidence in the situation, sliding up beside Sydney who was taking a tequila shot and placing his arm around her waist, grazing her warm skin. "What'd Clay wan-" She whipped around to face him.

"Your room. Now." She demanded with a hardened expression.

"What?" He scowled in shock.

"Unless of course, you want me to chew you out in front of everyone?" He didn't move, too surprised over how poorly he'd judged the situation. "Go!" She urged in frustration, her voice rising far above the low, menacing tone she was previously speaking in as she pushed him towards the hallway.

He turned and started down the hallway in awe, walking so stiff that he looked like a toy soldier and Sydney had to hold back a laugh. She trailed behind, entering his dorm after him and quickly slamming the door shut before practically jumping into his arms and smashing her lips into his.

Tig nearly toppled over when she attacked him, the shock over her anger still present, mixing with the surprise of her action. Even though he was confused, his body was not - responding instantly by pushing his tongue into her mouth and setting her on top of the dresser. She pulled away, looking up at him and shaking her head.

"Don't think that I'm not mad."

He chuckled before dipping down and pressing his lips to her neck almost teasingly, gently nipping and tugging at the skin. "I can deal with a little anger." He whispered below her ear.

She stared at him in awe for a few seconds before pressing her lips back to his in a fiery kiss, full of passion. "Thank you." She whispered sincerely once she pulled away - only willing to say it once.

"You deserve it." He nodded sincerely, kissing her on the forehead before pulling her down off the dresser.

Once her stilettos were firmly planted back on the ground and she was satisfied with the encounter, Sydney turned to leave the room, heading back out to wait with the rest of the guys for McKeevy to arrive.

"Hey hey hey." He pulled her back by her hand. "Where d'you think you're goin Princess?" Her lips curled up when she saw the unmistakable devilish look in his eye. "I got makin up to do." He picked her up and lightly tossed her onto the bed while she squealed with laughter.

After several rounds of 'making up', Tig had been thoroughly forgiven and Sydney was beaming from not only the blissful apology or the refreshing getaway, but also the excitement of finally getting to experience her first gun shipment.

"You two lovebirds finally ready to go?" Bobby hollered across the lot when Sydney and Tig finally emerged from the clubhouse, sauntering over to the group who was waiting on them yet again.

"I don't know… I could go for another round." Sydney joked leaning against Tig's bike and lighting a cigarette in preparation to head to their new warehouse where McKeevy would be delivering a fresh shipment of AK's, handing the lighter off to Jax.

"Think the prospect's deep enough?" Clay nodded from his seated position on his bike, to the garage where Half-Sack was sweeping.

"I trust him." The VP nodded, taking the lighter from Sydney's outstretched hand and sparking up his own cigarette before passing it back with a nod of thanks.

"Hey prospect!"

"Huh?"

"Come on over here, learn a thing." Half-Sack dropped the broom and jogged over at the request of his President.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Tig hassled.

"Take the van with Syd, follow us." Clay tossed him the van keys and nodded towards the corner of the lot where it was parked.

Half-Sack looked to Sydney first for confirmation, which earned him a look of warning from Clay who was already going out of his way to allow the fresh prospect to prove his loyalty.

"Never thought I'd be upset about not ridin sidesaddle like a pussy." Sydney scoffed as she climbed into the passenger seat of the van.

"Me either." Half-Sack chuckled, smiling at her playful warning gaze. "You feel better about shit?" He decided to take the risk of asking the invasive question once they got on the road, knowing that at the very least it would let his friend know that he cared.

"I don't know about shit with him… Shit with myself though? I think so."

"You seem better, you're talkin about it at least."

"Yup." She rolled her eyes with a playful smile.

After a relatively short commute, Tig, Chibs, Clay, Bobby, Juice and Jax all pulled off of the highway and onto the dirt path of the property owned by Elliot Oswald where their new warehouse was located.

"So, you really think it's gay if I shave my shit?"

"It's a little gay." Sydney looked to Half-Sack expectantly, firm on her stance of the matter he had presented her with during their drive.

"Are you sure? Juice swears that-"

"If you wanna continue getting laid." Sydney cut him off as he brought the van to a stop. "I would not be listening to a single thing that Juice says, especially when it comes to _not_ being gay..." The two laughed before hopping out of the vehicle and joining the others where they watched the cargo truck containing the oil drums full of lethal weapons, chug up the road.

"Don't screw this up Sack." Tig scolded as Juice playfully roughhoused with the prospect while Clay approached the door of the truck to greet Michael McKeevy with a hug.

McKeevy eyed Sydney with a scowl as he began offloading the guns to the bikers, but she met it with a smirk - strutting into the warehouse with her stilettos kicking up dust behind her.

"What's that about?" The Irishman nodded in the direction of the slender blonde.

"Eh." Clay shrugged. "New thing we're tryin out."

Everyone gathered around the table in the middle of the warehouse as Juice and Half-Sack got to work assembling the bones of the AK's. "How much of a hit did you take on the new supply house?" McKeevy winced as he asked the dreadful question.

"Anything is more than we planned for, but let's just say our damages were mitigated." Clay gave Sydney an appreciative glance.

"Mayans torching your warehouse… What does that do to your business?"

"We're handlin it, Niners aint as cooperative as we'd like but we're making do."

"Can't you just assemble at your clubhouse?" McKeevy clearly saw the corner cutting as a way to save money and keep their guns in a place that other gangs weren't bold enough to hit.

"We learned our lesson the hard way…" Clay referred to the seven years that he and some of the older members - including JT, had served for gun trafficking years back. "We don't cross our money streams, clubhouse is strictly a legit, automotive business."

"Black stops buyin from you, means you go however long without buying weapons from us? SAMCRO's a huge piece of our income..."

"Gotta make the adjustment alright… I mean, it's part of business." Clay tried to reason with the foreign man's paranoia.

"This isn't just a business for us brother… True IRA - we're not merchants, we're soldiers. The guns we sell fuel the cause, without it we lose ground."

"We support the cause McKeevy, shit like this just happens." Chibs intervened while Sydney and Tig shared a worried glance from opposite sides of the foldout table.

"That's the problem, a few weeks would cripple us."

"The hell you sayin?" It was obvious by Clay's tone that his patience was wearing thin.

"I'm sayin if you can't front us the cash then we'll have to find another buyer." Sydney realized then, just why the Irish had a reputation for being unreasonable - McKeevy was flying off the handle over a completely hypothetical situation.

"I've been buying guns from you for over a decade Michael… When you split with Adams, I stayed with you because of our friendship."

"You stayed with me because the other cowards sold out!" The conversation escalated. "We're the only outlaws left."

"We'll get you your money." Sydney announced as she slid her gold pendant along the chain around her neck, staring at McKeevy reassuringly as she hoped to end the argument before it got to a point of no return.

"What?" Clay sneered, glaring with his eyes deep in the hollows of his face in reaction to her overstepping her boundaries. Jax bit his lip, looking down at the concrete below his boots and allowing his shaggy hair to fall in front of his face in an attempt to shield the laugh he was concealing as the little girl forced his outlaw President into submission.

"Now don't take this personal Clay." McKeevy looked between the two at odds. "Your warehouse burning down is a casualty of commerce, losing our guns is a casualty of war." Clay visibly relented, realizing that there was no other option - even if he had no idea how he was going to get his hands on that kind of cash.

"Alright." He nodded. "Now, let's see what we're payin for." He changed the subject, referring to the pile of AK's strewn about the table in front of them.

The mood lightened instantly at the mention of weapons, everyone reaching for a piece of hardware. "Aye lassy, careful now, this aint a toy." McKeevy placed his hand on the barrel of the gun that Sydney had grabbed and lowered it. Everyone froze, sharing looks of anticipation over how the scene would unfold.

Sydney raised an eyebrow and scoffed, ripping her gun away from the dark haired man and flipping it around in her hand. She cocked it once it was safely back in her grasp before shooting straight between Clay and McKeevy's heads - hitting the centre of the 'O' in the 'Oswald Lumber' logo which was scrawled on the back wall.

Everyone looked back at her in awe, _especially _the skeptical outsider. "You're right, definitely not a toy." She rasped with a smirk, tossing the gun back onto the table and swinging her hips under the eyes of the gawking men as the red soles of her stilettos carried her towards the exit.

"Seems like something ye should keep trying." McKeevy remarked to Clay with the shock still on his face, the men all sharing a laugh.

Sydney watched the smoke ascend into the night sky from the cigarette that was dangling between her fingers as she leant against the van, waiting for everyone after her dramatic exit. The heavy steel doors slid shut as everyone retreated to their rides and Clay bade McKeevy farewell while Sydney prepared herself for whatever reaction he had undoubtedly held back.

"What the hell was that!" Clay sneered as he approached the cocky little tart, throwing his hand in the direction of the descending cargo truck. "You better have $200k that I don't know about."

Sydney prayed in that moment as Clay yelled at her yet again in the short time that she'd been working with SAMCRO, that her strategy of showing them what they were doing wrong and proving herself useful by correcting their mistakes, would not backfire.

"Did you really see another way out of that?" She sneered back, stepping closer to the tall man. "You spooked McKeevy into thinking our deal is at risk." Her voice raised. "You think he won't sell to someone else more secure? Think again."

"It doesn't mean you go making decisions on your own!" He yelled.

"A decision you would've had to make! I made it quick and painless before you pushed McKeevy even further."

Clay sighed dramatically. "You!" He pointed to Chibs. "Go with him, courtesy escort. I wanna know who he's meetin with and when he'll be back." The Scotsman nodded, taking off after the truck.

Clay turned to leave with a look telling Sydney that she was walking on thin ice if this didn't work out - but it was a look she'd become accustomed to by now.

Tig hadn't said a word during the encounter with McKeevy or afterwards, too stunned by Sydney's boldness to form any proper thoughts. He had learned firsthand with JT that Clay was not a guy to cross, the only thing keeping his worry for Sydney's safety at bay was the fact that her efforts benefitted the ruthless President, but he would be lying if he said that the knowing glance Clay gave him as he fired up his Dyna, didn't make his stomach sink.

"You keep busting his balls like that, you're gonna be sittin on the sidelines with me, Princess." Jax warned playfully, tucking a cigarette behind his ear.

"Need a lap warmer?" She smirked at his bashful smile before dropping the facade when she'd noticed that everyone else had followed after their President. "I'd rather bust his balls than ride his dick." Her statement made Jax laugh. "My loyalty is with the club - not with the President, not with the Vice President." She remarked with a pointed look before rounding the van and climbing into the passenger seat.

Jax stood for a few seconds with his lips pursed and his head nodding as he pondered her words. As much as he wanted to let himself believe that Sydney was just a mouthy little groupie who knew how to handle a gun and stroke an ego, he couldn't help but respect the way that she seemed truly devoted to the good of the club, not just herself.

"You scare the shit outta me, ya know that?" Half-Sack shook his head as Sydney buckled her seatbelt.

"I scare the shit out of alotta people Kip, you should be used to it by now."

"I don't know I just-" He began stumbling over his words and Sydney looked at him with a smile spreading across her face before the two of them busted out laughing.


	24. Fear Factor

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 24: FEAR FACTOR**

"I'm fucking starving." Sydney groaned as she hopped out of the van once they were parked on the compound, bounding towards the clubhouse kitchen for something to soothe her rumbling stomach, Half-Sack following close behind.

"Hmmm…" She scanned the well stocked fridge, trying to figure out what she could make that would satisfy both the carnivores and the vegetarian prospect. "Kip what's your favorite meal in the whole wide world?" She asked as she swung the door of the fridge back and forth.

"Burritos." He answered easily.

"How the fuck d'you make burritos with no meat?" She scowled, still unable to understand how someone could choose to _not_ indulge in the deliciousness of beef.

"Rice and beans." She pursed her lips with a shrug, accepting his answer before she pulled the cupboard door open to find the fixings for his custom meal, as well as the ones she needed for everyone elses. "Syd no you don't have to. It's not your job, I'm just a prospect and all." He tried to stop her from going out of her way to cook a separate meal just for him.

She froze, turning around and taking a step closer to him, then another, and another - backing him against the cupboards, her Louboutins putting them at a much more comparable height.

"You sayin that if you had a full patch, it would be my job?" She questioned him menacingly.

"What?" He trembled. "No! Of course not, you're not just some club whore-" He stopped his babbling when he saw the playful curl of her lips. "You're such an asshole" He groaned, nudging her as they laughed.

"One day Kippy… _One day_ you will learn." She smiled as she left the room to see who all had stuck around the clubhouse for a late dinner.

"You hungry, _Alexander_?" She asked Tig, drawing out his real name as she ran her hand over his shoulder while he sat at the bar.

Tig winced at the sound of his name: a name so foreign to him, no matter how good it sounded coming from her. "You know." He squinted, spinning around on his stool to face her. "People get their asses kicked for callin me that." He raised a brow in warning.

"I'm countin on it." She nodded with a dirty smirk.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked, putting his beer down and finding the back of her knee as he brought her into his lap to face him. "Think that'll teach ya?"

"It's a good place to start." She grinned.

"God, count me out." Bobby winced.

"Yeah... I'm not hungry anymore." Juice agreed from the pool table where he had his laptop set up.

Sydney jumped, looking up as her cheeks flushed, realizing that Tig had completely distracted her from the fact that there were other people in the room - which was why she'd come out in the first place.

"What's on the menu?" The Sergeant recaptured her attention, wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he answered her earlier question.

"Oh _now _you're hungry for what I got to offer?" She scoffed.

"I'm always hungry for you babydoll." He growled with authority, skimming his hands over her waist and letting his eyes consume her. "Just gotta keep you on your toes since I got all this competition." His mouth was hot on her neck as he rasped the words against her skin.

"How about I make you dinner, and then you can have me for dessert." She whispered seductively with baited breath, her tongue tracing his ear and her hands roaming his chest as she spoke.

"Now there's an offer I can't refuse." His hands tightened around her, rubbing over the smoothness of her exposed skin as he kissed her passionately before lifting her out of his lap and back onto the ground, playfully smacking her ass and winking.

She bit her lip bashfully, a flush on her face as she turned back to the kitchen, ignoring the smirk that Tig had on his face when he realized how hot and bothered he'd gotten her. She got to work cooking for everyone in the clubhouse, knowing that their appetites would return as soon as they smelled food.

Once everything was ready, Sydney made up a plate for the Vice President who had retired to his dorm for the evening, strutting down the hallway and lifting her arm to knock on his door when she heard. "You bet, bad boy." She snickered as her fist hovered above the wood, wondering if this was how ridiculous her and Tig sounded to everyone else.

Jax's entire body jolted with shock when he was surprised by a pounding on his door, the little blonde girl beneath him squeaking in surprise. "It's okay darlin." He smirked, patting her knee as he lifted himself from between her legs. "I'll keep you safe." He winked at the meek young woman whose name he'd already forgotten. Sally? Suzy? Something with an 'S', he pondered as he made his way to the door.

"Hey, bad boy." Sydney said in her most exaggerated sultry voice as she leant her hip against the door frame with a propped up arm in a playfully seductive pose. "Dinner's ready." She cocked a brow as she presented him with the plate of food, scoffing as the little girl with bangs scrambled to cover herself.

"We're ah… Kinda in the middle of somethin…" He pursed his lips, looking through his eyelashes at Sydney with his head down bashfully.

"Looks more like you're kinda at the end of somethin." She retorted as Jax's whore pushed past her and ran down the hallway, tripping over her own feet.

"Come on Syd-" He began arguing playfully.

"I'm gonna stop you right there." She silenced him with her manicured index finger. "Because I know that hands down would've been the worst blowjob you've gotten since the ninth grade. So really, you should be thanking me." She cocked her head as she finished speaking.

Jax just bit his lip with a smirk, knowing there would be no reasoning with the maniac of a woman standing before him with a home cooked peace offering.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She replied cheerfully, handing him the food and turning on her heel.

"I meant for the food."

"Sure you did." She snorted over her shoulder, deciding that she would attempt to bond further with the man in the rare moment where she wasn't thinking about ripping his head off. "How's Abel doing?" She changed her course, turning around and walking into the room cautiously to gauge his reaction.

"Oh, he's good!" His mood picked up instantly at the mention of his son, setting the plate on the bed with a warm smile.

"That's great." Sydney smiled, taking a seat beside him. "What about the junkie?"

Jax rolled his eyes at her use of the term but didn't say anything, he knew her history with junkies and he wasn't about to initiate an argument with her while they were getting along.

"You and my mom been talkin?" He joked, even though he knew that Gemma likely had confided in Sydney what her feelings were towards the mother of her grandson.

"Next thing you know I'm gonna be poppin IV lines with crank." Jax blinked and shook his head, stunned by the demonic words that had just come from such an angelic face. "What? Don't think I know about that?"

"No just… Didn't expect you to say it." He choked out.

"How d'you feel about that?"

Jax tightened his jaw thinking about what his mom had done, even if the act itself didn't mess with his moral compass nearly as much as it probably should have - he hated that she continued to medal with his relationships, his business, the shit that he should handle, not her.

"You and my mom really have been talkin." He smirked, deciding to let go of the resentment he had for his mother, knowing that what she did was to make things better. "She's goin off to rehab, won't have to worry about custody shit."

"You think it's gonna work?" Sydney had seen her fair share of rehab failures, wondering what Wendy being clean could mean for her VP.

"I hope so… It definitely aint the first time for her."

"You guys split because of it?" Sydney's brow creased as she tried to figure out if Jax had _really _wanted her as his old lady, or if she was just a rebound from Tara.

"Me and Wendy… That was a mistake." He shook his head.

"A Gemma fueled mistake?" She probed with a playful smirk.

"You know it." He chuckled. "She was driving the wedding train, wanted grandkids."

"Do you resent her? You know, for pushing you into that with the wrong person? Potentially pushing you away from the right person…" Her question was pointed and she let her eyes show it.

"Nah… My choices are on me, even the wrong ones." He chuckled, knowing just how many of those Sydney thought he had under his belt.

"A heavy weight to carry I'm sure…" She joked back, shaking her head with a playful smile before she pushed herself off the bed, deciding she'd gotten enough out of this conversation.

"Almost as heavy as the weight of a 200k debt." He fired back with a wink.

Sydney looked over her shoulder with a grin of amusement, nodding in approval to his clever comeback. "Looks like SAMCRO is gonna have to do a little fundraising, I'm sure you boys can get creative." She winked.

"Hey, can I ask you somethin?" Jax asked as she approached the door after pondering whether or not it was a good idea. She turned around expectantly, welcoming the question with open arms. "San Bern. How'd they feel about outlaw?" He nodded to her.

"Most of the, enjoy it but I don't think they would mind going legit, why?" She knew this question had something to do with Jax's recent change in thinking.

"Ah just wondering." He brushed it off casually. "Went through some of my dad's old shit, just seems like his original vision for the club was somethin simpler. He called it a Harley commune, real hippie shit."

"What's _your _vision for the club?" She cut right to the chase, remembering the conversation that she'd had with him previously about feeling like Clay wasn't carrying on his father's legacy. All the pieces of the puzzle were starting to form a much clearer picture in her mind.

"I don't know yet." He shook his head.

"I think it'd be more trouble than it's worth... Convincing some of these guys to go straight…" She swayed as she held onto the door frame, the depth behind her stare telling him that there was much to her cryptic words.

"Aight, well thanks for the food." He didn't take her response personally, from what he knew of the Cali Queen - a legitimate club was definitely not a table she wanted to sit at.

"Don't thank me yet." She laughed to herself before she heard him coughing violently as she descended the hallway.

Sydney walked out to the bar with a giant plate of burritos and just as she expected, everyone rushed over to claim their prize. She rounded the bar, leaning overtop of it with a smirk as she watched in anticipation.

Bobby was the first to start the chain reaction, coughing as his face went red and sweat began to pool on his forehead, Tig and Juice following close behind while Half-Sack began gagging from the pool table.

"Are you fucking kidding me Juice?" She exclaimed with a hand thrusted into the air in disappointment with the hispanic man.

"I grew up in Queens!" He choked out, making her shake her head dismally.

"What the hell did you put in here?" Tig winced as he poured beer down his throat to help soothe the burning.

"What?" She asked innocently before taking a bite. "I grew up with Latinas." She shrugged, a smirk tugging at her lips as the men watched her chomp on the monstrously spicy food in shock. Tig raised an eyebrow at her challenge, taking another bite and trying to withhold his outburst, his face going red and tears pooling in his eyes.

Juice winced before taking another bite and funneling air through his mouth as he did so. "This is like Fear Factor."

Sydney perked up. "We should play!"

"For fucks sake, Juice." Bobby groaned to the younger man for giving her the idea.

"I'm in." Tig slammed his beer down on the bartop after successfully getting through his second bite. Sydney grinned evilly, scarfing down her food before gathering the materials for her game.

Once everything was ready, Sydney returned to the clubhouse where the men sat with their empty plates, all looking like they had just taken a killer beating thanks to her use of spices.

"Pussies" She scoffed as she waltzed past the struggling men and down the hallway to retrieve the VP - there was no way she was going to miss out on a chance to humiliate him in a game of fear factor.

"Jax! Get out here!" She yelled, not bothering with the pleasantries of knocking or asking for his participation.

Jax came barrelling down the hall a few seconds later, clearly tweaked out by Sydney's yelling for him. "What's wrong?" He asked as he looked around the room while he pulled a shirt over his head.

"We're playing fear factor."

"You called me out for that?" He scowled.

"Sure did." Sydney smiled.

"That meal wasn't enough?" He smirked discerningly at her.

"It was only but a taste, Jacky Boy." She shook her head with a smirk. "Everyone ready?" She asked cheerfully. Tig grinned and nodded while the rest gave a half hearted nod, fearing whatever she was about to put them through but knowing that they would be subject to hassling if they noped out.

"Great, okay." She began explaining with no regard for the fact that nobody shared in her enthusiasm. "Fear Factor meets Jackass. First round: shred the bike rail on a skateboard, if you don't make it at least halfway - you take a shot of this." She grinned wickedly, presenting a jar of habanero peppers which only contained the juice - thanks to her overuse of the fiery food in tonight's meal. She laughed once everyone began yelling in protest to her terms, shrugging with a sweet smile and making her way outside, skateboard in hand.

"Okay!" She cooed once everyone was outside at the rail which was usually lined with gleaming Harleys. "Who's first?"

"Prospect!" Tig clapped Half-Sack on the shoulder and shoving him towards Sydney who was holding out the skateboard for him.

"Oh no come on…" The poor kid groaned.

"Come on Sack, you can do it." She encouraged.

"Fuck!" He yelled before diving in head first, taking a running start and jumping up onto the skateboard, wobbling and flailing his arms about but somehow keeping his balance all the way to the end. "Holy shit!" Applause roared from him as he waltzed back down the line with a grin on his face.

"I fucking told you that you could do it!" Sydney hollered as she ran up and high fived him. "Juice let's go!"

Juice jumped up and down a few times, limbering his body up with a newfound confidence after watching the uncoordinated prospect stick the landing. He began running, picking up good speed but fumbling when the top of his foot clipped the rim of the skateboard, flipping his entire body forward, his head rebounding off of the metal railing with a loud clang before he hit the pavement.

Sydney stood wide eyed with her hands over her mouth in shock while Tig and Bobby doubled over in hysterics, Half-Sack and Jax jogging over shakily in laughter to check on their Puerto Rican brother.

"I'm good guys, really." Juice's eyes were rolling back and the stars could practically be seen circling his head.

"I don't think so, we gotta get you to the ER." Bobby insisted a little too strongly, hoping it would exclude him from the game, helping Juice up as he propped him up with his shoulder and began walking him to the van.

"You just wanna get out of it, huh old man?" Tig teased.

"You each owe me a shot!" Sydney called after them. "Jax you're up!"

"I'm gonna just go with that shot, Princess." He shook his head with a grimace.

Sydney turned her attention to Tig. "Oh, yeah me too." He shrugged with a shit eating grin.

She rolled her eyes, slipping off her heels and getting ready to make a run for it with a smile on her face. She took off, successfully jumping up onto the skateboard that Half-Sack was holding steady and stabilizing herself as it teetered on the metal rail, squealing as she tried to keep her balance. Somewhere along the way of willing herself not to fall backwards, she leant too far forwards. Feeling gravity working against her, she leapt off of the skateboard, hopping along the rail quickly enough that she was able to make it to the end.

"More than halfway!" She yelled across the lot to Tig and Jax who were shaking their heads.

"You only picked this one knowing you had good balance." Jax teased, nudging her playfully as she approached with the skateboard under her arm.

"I ain't gonna let years of gymnastics go to waste."

"You did _gymnastics_?" He scoffed in response.

"Til I was old enough to realize it's for pussies." She smirked back.

"That explains… So much." Tig said dreamily, recounting her crazy flexibility and gymnast's complex.

"Old habits die hard." She winked.

"Jesus, get me that fucking pepper juice." Jax winced, shaking his head, opting for a burning throat rather than burning eyes and ears.

Sydney poured the two shot glasses as full as she could, sliding them across the bar to their dread-filled owners. "Bottoms up." She smiled with wild eyes.

Jax looked to Tig with a wince, who responded with a look of terror before picking up the shot and slamming it back, keeping his head tilted toward the ceiling as he tried to force the offensive substance down his throat.

The reaction of the Sergeant did not help Jax's case in the slightest as he hesitated, lifting the shot off of the bartop and setting it back down multiple times. "Jesus Christ, you hesitate with this just like you hesitate pulling the fucking trigger." Sydney grimaced. "You sure you deserve that VP flash?" She asked with a raised brow, doing her best to rile him up.

Tig barked out a laugh at Sydney's insult, immediately beginning coughing and gasping for air as he ran behind the bar, guzzling water straight from the tap and gathering ice cubes to stuff into his cheeks.

Her words did the trick. Jax's lips formed a straight line as he grit his teeth in frustration, pouring the shot into his mouth and swallowing in one fluid motion. "Fuck you." He choked out as his face turned as red as Sydney was sure his temper was, running down the hallway to his room for water.

She bursted out laughing as she watched the men struggling, basking in the glory of her victory. "So... No round 2 then?"

The aftermath of Sydney's game had her lying on Tig's lap on one of the couches in the clubhouse as he iced his burning mouth. "I fucking hate you." He shook his head.

"You fucking love me." She snorted, not turning her attention from the game of tetris she was playing on her phone.

"That love's gonna kill me." He patted her propped up leg with a chuckle. "You stayin?"

"Nah, I'm gonna head home." She said as she sat up, leaving Tig with a disappointed look on his face. "Maybe you'll sleep better alone." She added softly, the sincerity not quite reaching her eyes as they flicked down to the black leather of the couch and avoided his gaze.

Tig didn't expect her comment to sting as badly as it did. He had done his best to hide the nightmare in the back of his mind not to spook her or himself, but she ripped it right back out.

"Okay." He nodded regrettably, knowing that fighting it would only cause his mind to blow things out of proportion when he had to think about it alone in bed later on. He stood with her, placing his hand on the small of her back as he walked her to her car. "I love you, I'll see you tomorrow." His words were flat as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, opening the car door and ushering her inside. He knew that now was the right time to show how he was truly feeling - show her that there was nothing for her to worry about, let her know that for the one nightmare she'd helped bring on, there were countless that she had chased away, but he couldn't. The coping mechanisms of turning cold and ignoring the emotion was too deeply embedded in his psyche at this age.

"I love you too." Sydney replied softly as she got into the car, wishing she would've just bitten her damn tongue. She hadn't meant for her comment to be petty, but she hadn't realized just how bitter she felt until the words had already left her lips. She took a deep breath as she watched him walk away, telling herself that it wasn't worth getting worked up over and that things would be fine tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Tig could not say the same about his level of relief as he sat hunched over the bar with a half empty bottle of Jim Beam. He'd already been worried to sleep and re-live another nightmare tonight as it was, but now without Sydney there to comfort him, he had to seek another source of comfort - taking a swig before passing out over the bar.

Gemma rolled into the parking lot at TM at the crack of dawn, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor in the bar as she sauntered into the dimly lit room at the early hour, rolling her eyes and shaking her head and she saw Tig, snoring and sprawled out across the bar next to the empty bottle. She scowled - this wasn't _unlike_ Tig, but it _was_ unlike Tig since Sydney had come into his life.

Sydney groaned as the vibrating of her phone woke her from a sleep that had been less than peaceful to begin with. "What?" She answered groggily when she saw it was Gemma calling at the offending hour of 6:16 a.m.

"Can you come in early? Emergency backlog."

"Yup." She confirmed flatly, making Gemma chuckle when she heard the line go dead.

Less than an hour later, Gemma heard the rumbling exhaust of Sydney's challenger as she pulled into the parking lot.

"Well shit." The older woman scoffed as she lowered her glasses and leant back in her chair, taking in the sight of the gorgeous blonde girl. "It doesn't even look like I dragged your ass out of bed." She smirked, referencing Sydney's perfectly put together appearance: a black cropped hoodie with distressed denim shorts in a light wash, combat boots, straight hair and a fresh face.

"That's the goal." She replied sassily as she removed her dark aviators, looking around the office for the source of the emergency. "What's the backlog?" The confusion and mild annoyance was evident in her tone.

"There is no backlog, what happened to Tig?" Her tone told Sydney that she wasn't playing games.

"_Of course_ there isn't." She scoffed, walking over to the couch and tossing her purse onto it before taking a seat. "Gemma, if you're gonna worry every time one of us flies off the handle, you're gonna have to quit your job, cause it is a _full time _gig."

"Worrying about all you guys is already my full time gig." She argued.

"Speaking of worrying…" Sydney drew the attention away from her and Tig. "I talked to Jax last night, found some shit out about why he's been acting the way he has…"

"Really? What'd you find out?" Gemma perked up.

"He asked how SAMDINO would feel about going straight, when I asked why and he said he read some shit his dad wrote. Sound familiar?"

"He say what he found?"

"No, but it sounds to me like it was some dying confession from a broken heart."

"I wouldn't put it past John… Now tell me why Tig is passed out drunk in the clubhouse."

Sydney scowled at first but quickly realized the rationale to his thinking: heavily drinking to block out the dreams. "He had a nightmare in Santa Cruz about some girl, Jules?"

Gemma stiffened when she heard the forbidden name, to say that she was shocked would be an understatement. Tig hadn't spoken of Juliet in well over a decade, maybe more.

"Juliet." Gemma corrected with a slow nod. "He really _does _love you." She spoke with a small smile, knowing that if Juliet was being brought out of his subconscious, it was because he was having the same feelings for Sydney - that he did for her all those years ago.

"I guess he didn't want to risk dreaming about her again." Sydney smiled sadly.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before the older woman was the one to break it. "You gonna ask?"

"No." Sydney answered quickly with a shake of her head. "I want him to tell me, when he's ready."

"You are good for him baby." Gemma nodded, her smokey voice full of sincerity as she leant forward. "You _will_ be the perfect old lady."

"I hope so." She smiled.

"Alexander!" Sydney yelled as she stormed into the clubhouse, seeing Tig lying barely awake on the bar with his eyes cracked open.

"You look like a goddamn angel." His eyes loomed over her as a lazy grin spread across his face, not moving from where his head laid upon the polished wood, her beauty captivating him so strongly that he hadn't even realized her use of his first name.

"And you look like Satan ass fucked you all night." She nudged him out of the barstool. "Go shower, you have work."

"Come on baby." He groaned, grimacing as he stood - feeling the soreness spread through his body as a result of his unconventional sleeping position.

"Don't you 'come on baby' me, go." She pushed him towards the hallway.

He turned around with a grin, stumbling backwards to his dorm. "I might need you to help me clean up." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Get going." She grit her teeth theatrically, the two smiling as she followed him to his dorm.

Sydney tidied around the dorm as he showered, paying extra attention to the bed which she made to look extra comfortable - hoping it would entice him to sleep properly tonight.

"Awe babe, you don't gotta do that." Tig remarked when he emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, kissing her on the cheek as he walked over to his dresser to grab clean boxers.

"That's what old ladies do, isn't it?" She looked up from her crouched position by the laundry basket with a smile.

"It's also what croweaters do." He smirked.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm your own personal croweater." She purred in a sultry voice as she walked over, draping her arms over his shoulders.

"Hell yeah you are, Dollface." His hands rested on her ass while a smug smile sat comfortably on his face.

"I know something else that croweaters do…" She whispered against his neck, pressing a chaste kiss to the sensitive spot and looking up at him through her eyelashes before she slowly descended down his body, dragging her lips across his skin, not breaking the eye contact. The closer she got to his dick, the more his eyes began to flutter closed, as soon as she could no longer see the beautiful crystal blue, she stopped, getting to her feet quickly.

"Work." She ordered, pressing a peck to his lips before turning dramatically and strutting towards the door.

With the early hour and Tig being hungover, Sydney definitely hadn't expected such a reaction out of him, a gasp of surprise leaving her throat as she was spun around and slammed against the oak door, her face instantly flushing and a smile of excitement spreading across her face.

"You know, I seem to remember you owe me somethin from last night." He purred with a smirk as he loomed over her like a predator stalking it's prey.

"Was more like it's something you owe me." She challenged.

Tig chuckled cockily, his animalistic kinks showing through as he moved his hands from her hips, up her body, one wrapping around her throat and the other gathering her hands above her head. "That how it's working now baby?"

"It is when you act like a jackass." She spit the words at him. Of course she wasn't _actually_ mad, but she knew that part of being a good old lady meant keeping her man in line - and if she could use it to her advantage in the bedroom, she would.

"Oh we're gonna have fun, Kitten." He chuckled, dipping down to press his lips to hers in a hard kiss before pulling away to let her go, smirking knowingly at the blush on her cheeks.

Even though Tig had completely played into it and knew he deserved it - it didn't stop him from sulking as he slowly pulled on his clothes and lugged his sorry ass to the garage to begin his shift. Gemma smiled and nodded in approval to Sydney when she saw Tig scuffing his boots over the pavement as the two worked though the day's paperwork, the sound of Harleys filling their ears as the lot filled up.

"Hey, Ma." Jax greeted cheerful as he swung in the door frame to the office a few hours later.

"Mornin baby."

"Church." He nodded to Sydney.

"How's your throat doin?" Sydney nudged Jax with a playful smile as they walked towards the clubhouse.

Jax looked behind him to see Tig looking less than pleased as he watched the two young blondes walk side by side. "Better than yours is gonna be doin." He smirked, making Sydney smile once again at his cleverness, wishing that she was able to see the playful side of the VP more often.

Sydney took her seat at the table, biting her lip to suppress her reaction when she saw Juice sitting across from her, head forehead wrapped in bandages.

"What the hell did you do." Clay sighed, swinging his head in Sydney's direction - knowing by her expression that it was her doing, but she could tell there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Just havin a little fun, it's not my fault that they can't _take the heat_." She replied innocently with a small smirk at her pun. Clay responded with a chuckle before turning his attention to the VP.

"Got a call from Jury, Mayans are pressing them to pay a vig to keep running pussy and book out of Nevada." Jax spoke of one of his dad's oldest friends and newest brothers under the reaper - feeling bad that his club was struggling with Mayan beef that didn't belong to them, especially after Clay had manipulated him into being patched over by the Sons. The deep scowl on Clay's face told Jax that the meeting he'd called was already going bad. "Look man they need back up, let the Mayans know we're around."

"Part of asking for the vig is about shittin on us." Bobby argued with his VP. "They knew Jury would call, they're gonna be watchin."

"We got a 200k deficit hangin over our heads." Tig argued loudly.

"We're not wasting man power." Clay answered with finality, refusing to even entertain the request that came from the bleeding heart of his VP.

"That's what I'm sayin, just me and Bobby go. Low profile."

"No, no. That's a risky ride brother. Northern Nevada's Mayan territory. Nah, they're still lookin to settle the score from our little raid." Sydney was surprised to hear Juice speaking up - even if it was purely out of concern, she figured the concussion was the result of his sudden courage.

"You think we could convince him to buy some guns?" Sydney proposed. "Make the trip worth our while. We scratch their backs, they scratch ours. You guys go up, fly under the radar, we get them some guns the same way and then they've got protection the next time the Mayans wanna blow smoke.

"Yeah, maybe." Jax nodded eagerly in response to her clever idea, the two blondes looking to Clay.

"You think you could get Jury on board?" He asked tentatively. Normally, the President would've been excited to see reaper royalty getting along - especially if it meant money in his pocket, but regardless of the result, he knew that this play was just another display of Jax's weakness.

"My dad saved his ass in Tay Nihn, he owes the Tellers a chit." He responded smugly. Clay's hardened expression didn't let up as he stared down his stepson. "Look man we're not gonna go cowboy. I promise."

"Promise." Bobby crossed his heart sarcastically.

"Low profile. I don't want no wetbacks knowing that we crossed into NV." He scolded. "They pull this off, I want you and Juice driving the barrels." He ordered his Sergeant.

"Done." Tig nodded. Jax stood with a smirk, clapping Clay on the shoulder who still looked brutally unsure.

Jax and Bobby were gearing up to leave as Tara pulled into the lot in her cutlass, Sydney raised an eyebrow, alerting Gemma who quickly stood from her desk and scurried over to the window. "Stupid bitch." She mumbled. "I'm gonna head out early, you handle this?" A discerning smirk spread across Sydney's face as the matriarch began gathering her things, avoiding the knowing gaze of the younger girl.

Sydney watched the encounter from the drawn blinds, chuckling to herself as Tara attempted to turn down the ride home from Gemma when she learned that Jax wasn't available - knowing that you didn't get by with refusing an offer from the queen. The blonde woman's brows raised in anticipation when she noticed Gemma's disapproval when Jax presented her with the trip he was about to take, raising them higher when she saw the placement of Jax's hand on Tara's waist as he bid her goodbye, turning back to her work with a knowing smirk.

Before Gemma was set to head off of the compound with Tara, she searched frantically for her husband. "You sent him into Nevada?" The judgment was strong in her tone as Clay walked her back to her car.

"It was his idea." Clay defended, trying to reason with mama bear. "It's club business."

"He has a two week old kid. He is _distracted_. You have to protect him."

"Protect him? From what?" Clay scowled. Gemma had been hassling with this Jax bullshit for weeks and even if he had started thinking the same thing - that Jax was distracted - his idea of how to solve the problem was quite the opposite of that of his wife.

"Himself."

"He's fine, relax." The President draped his arm over his worried old lady.

"Now, this one…" She turned her gaze to the brunette who was chatting with Lowell, who happened to be an old friend of hers.

"What's she doin here?" Clay scowled again.

"Anything she can to get close to Jax." Gemma spit out bitterly.

Clay smirked, turning to face her. "Maybe she just needs a tune up."

Gemma turned, responding in a playfully unimpressed manner. "Didn't trust her then, don't trust her now." She pressed a kiss to his lips.

Not long later, Jax and Bobby were sitting in silence on the side of the road in front of JT's memorial wall on the side of the remote highway. Bobby smoked a cigar while Jax lit a cigarette, the two taking a moment to honour their loved one.

"You think you and Jury are gonna get into it?"

"Yeah." Jax shook his head dreadfully. "He didn't see the patchover comin, the old man's struggling to hang the reaper on his back… None of this shit feels good to me Bobby, Clay's makin a mistake. The tribe wasn't SOA material."

Bobby stared at his VP with worry, watching every twitch in his body. "You alright brother?"

Jax looked up, meeting Bobby's skeptical eyes. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just checkin in, you been through a lot of shit in the last couple of weeks. Baby, junkie... Maybe all that noise in your head's got you turned around a bit."

Jax knew that his brothers were starting to pick up on his change of thinking, but Bobby was the first one to properly confront him about it. "Noise in my head?" He smiled, taking the approach of casually brushing off Bobby's stipulations, acting like he was talking crazy. "You got somethin to say man, just say it."

The older man raised an eyebrow. "You've been second guessin Clay ever since your boy was born. Club's pickin up on it, you gotta get right with that." Jax nodded, unsure of what to say as he stamped out his cigarette butt and restrapped his helmet.

Jax's engine roared as he and Bobby approached the diner just past the Nevada border that Jury had told him about - where the Mayans clubhouse was. "Gotta take a piss!" He hollered to his companion who nodded, the pair pulling into the dirt lot just off the highway. "I'll be right back." Jax nodded to Bobby before he rounded the back of the establishment to see exactly what he was in search of: a row of ape-hangered Harleys.

Clay pulled his ringing phone from the pocket of his kutte as he leant against the bar in the clubhouse with Tig and Half-Sack.

"Looks like Jury's gonna have some backup after all." Jax's voice came over the line, rumbling exhaust almost drowning him out.

"What the hell are you talkin about?"

"I'm on my way back, and I'm not alone."

"Shit." Clay slammed his phone shut.

"What?" Tig jumped up, going into Sergeant mode immediately.

"Mayans. Pack of em trailing Jax. I knew this was a bad idea!" He yelled, whipping his phone against the back wall behind the bar when he realized that he'd been right all along with not having man power to spare because now he didn't even have enough man power for an escort, with Happy and Chibs out of town, Juice out of commission, and Half-Sack without a bike.

Jax kicked over the first bike in the row, creating a domino effect as the others toppled over after it before he ran over to his bike which he parked right in front of the diner door, revving his engine until the Mayans ran out - seeing who was the culprit of the assault on their bikes as they ran to pick them up and initiate the game of cat and mouse.

Bobby scowled when he saw Jax racing out from behind the building where he went to piss. "Mayans, go!" He heard from his VP, scrambling to get his bike into gear as the pair took off with the Mayans not far behind.

"Sydney!" Clay yelled from the lot as the small group made to take off with whatever weapons they had on them, mounting their bikes.

Sydney jumped when she heard Clay calling her, anxiety filling her nerves when she heard his angry tone and use of her first name. She grabbed her purse, running out to her President.

"What's going on?"

"Mayans after Jax and Bobby."

"Fuck… Okay, Kip you take Juice's bike, I'll meet you on the highway."

"Vest." Tig ordered as he tossed her the smallest bulletproof vest that he could find, shocked when she stripped down right then and there in the middle of the crowded compound, slipping the vest over her bra and pulling her cropped hoodie back over top. When she looked back up, she was met with three blank stares and open mouths.

"It's nothin you aint seen before." She rolled her eyes. "Now go!" She yelled before taking off towards her challenger, slamming the door shut and peeling out of the lot.

Sydney had almost made it home in record time thanks to her handy network of alleyways and shortcuts when she was faced with the worst case scenario as sirens blared behind her until she pulled over to the side of the road.

"Fuck…"

* * *

**Ok but I actually love the Syd/Jax moment :/ Also editing this made me realize how much I made it sound like Sydney poisoned them LMAO (I wouldn't put it past her)**


	25. Frosted Glass

**I AM OFFICIALLY WRITING IN REAL TIME. I apologize if updates slow down a bit ️**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 25: FROSTED GLASS**

Sydney tried to pull the hem of her top down over the bulletproof vest as discreetly as possible as she watched none other than David Hale approach her vehicle with a pep in his step.

"Miss… Harding, was it?" The deputy recalled smugly as he approached the visibly angry blonde woman who he had undoubtedly delayed from somewhere she wanted to get quickly.

"Awe Davey, you say that like I'm easy to forget. I'm a little offended." She mock-pouted, hoping that a little bit of flirting was all that it would take for errand boy to let her get on her way.

He chortled. "You in a hurry?" His blue eyes flicked back up to meet her green ones which were pale from the sun.

"Why? You wanna take me out?" She asked playfully but dropped the facade when all she got in return was a discerning smirk. "I guess I'm just not used to the speed limits around here yet. You know; big city girl, small town." She shrugged. Her initial hope was to talk her way out of it, but now she just wanted him to give her the damn ticket so that she could make it home to get her bike before shit went too far south.

"Well, something to learn about small towns is that we struggle to meet our quotas. Now that you're here, it seems we won't have a problem with that." He quipped with a wink, strolling back to his wagon to write her up.

Sydney's playful expression fell as an agitated one took over - she liked being challenged, but not when she was destined to lose. _Bastard._

As Hale pulled up the newcomer's information for the speeding ticket, he noticed a flag on her file for two traffic offenses from the week prior - scowling when he realized that they weren't automotive traffic offenses, but rather motorcycle ones. The crease in his forehead deepened as he began running through all the information he had on the mysterious woman: Moved from San Bernardino, working at Teller-Morrow, cozying up with SAMCRO, committing multiple heinous traffic offenses in the same day, and rode a motorcycle? A blurry picture was starting to form, something was up with this girl and he was determined to find out without the interference of SAMCRO or his corrupt superior. He unflagged her file, burying the lead by storing away her hefty traffic fines to ensure that he would be the only one who possessed that precious intel.

Sydney tapped her nails against the door impatiently while waiting for the man who was taking his sweet ass time as her leisurely waltzed back up to her window.

"Drive safe, I would recommend that you don't get anymore tickets." His voice was firm and laced with suggestion.

She hesitated, grinning once she realized what he was getting at as she put her car into gear and drove off, impressed that even with the dumb haircut and big ears - he wasn't as stupid as he looked.

As soon as Sydney got home and was sure that she wasn't tailed, she stuffed her glock into her waistband and jumped out of the car - bolting from where she'd parked on the street, to the garage. She didn't bother with a change of clothes as she threw a black riding jacket over the bulky layers she was already adorned with, firing up her Ninja and yanking her helmet over her hair - praying that she wouldn't lay down her bike and risk scarring up her bare legs in the time sensitive mission.

Jax and Bobby raced down the empty highway as the chase continued. Even though bullets were flying and lives were at risk - Jax was pleased with the decision he'd made. If the Nevada Mayans were willing to chase two lone reapers for this long, he could only imagine what they would do to Jury and the rest of Indian Hills. Now that the bait was set, he would be able to help them get clear of the threat.

Clay, Tig, and Half-Sack had been shredding up the highway for over thirty minutes and Sydney still hadn't arrived - making all the men worry in the back of their minds that maybe the Nevada Mayans had informed their California hermanos of their updated standing with the Sons.

Sydney sighed in relief when she spotted the familiar eyes of the reaper staring back at her from ahead, leaning forward and propelling herself toward them - flipping her visor up.

"Should I ride up?" She yelled as she pulled up between Clay and Half-Sack, her voice carrying over the wind and the roaring machines as they soared over the pavement.

Everything rushed back to Tig, everything from the memory that he had been running from for years as a similar scenario presented itself: a high speed bike ride on the highway, the woman he loved, but this time a threat was present...

"Go-"

"No!" Tig responded at the same time as his President, his eyes widening slightly when he realized what he'd done.

Clay glared at the dark haired man, reminding him that no matter whose dick she sucked, she was to obey the orders of the President, _not_ the Sergeant. "They shouldn't be too far." He nodded up the highway.

Sydney's nerves shorted out when Tig answered in place of their President - and with the wrong answer at that. She willed herself to brush it off, hoping it was just a one time slip up. The last thing that she needed was Tig starting to get protective, and the second last thing she needed was their relationship to land on Clay's radar, as it could potentially jeopardize her seat at the table. She exhaled a cleansing breath, flipping her visor back down and taking off toward her stranded comrades.

Jax grinned when he saw his backup arriving as Clay, Tig and Half-Sack - who had somehow managed to borrow a bike - cut across the dirt median that divided the two directions of traffic.

Clay snarled in frustration when Sydney drove right past their target, hesitating as he thought about chasing after her but deciding against it - he couldn't focus on whatever second thoughts she'd let spook her, he had a crew to bring home safely.

"How the hell we wanna handle this?" Jax yelled to Clay as he pulled up alongside his President, trying to devise the best plan on the fly. Before Clay could answer, he was startled by the sound of rapid fire behind him.

Tig pulled out his Jericho and turned around to begin firing off retaliation shots but froze with his finger on the trigger, a crease in his brow when he realized that the gunfire wasn't coming from the Mayans.

Clay whipped his head around in frustration when Tig didn't fire back, wondering what the fuck had gotten into his Sergeant today, but he soon realized that he wasn't firing back because there was no need to.

Sydney swerved around the fallen Mayans with her glock in hand and a wicked grin on her face underneath the tinted visor of her helmet. She had managed to successfully shoot out each of the enemy's tires, bringing them to the ground and ending the chase without spilling blood - something she hoped that Jax would praise her for doing because it was _definitely _not her first choice.

Glee lit across the faces of the men once they realized what'd happened, honking their horns in cheer as Sydney sped past them and led them home.

"So much for low profile!" Bobby yelled humorously to his brothers.

Sydney reached the compound with the Sons in tow, parking her bike along the rail. She killed her engine, lifting off her helmet before she was immediately scooped into Tig's arms.

"That was so fucking sexy." He growled, carnal need inhabiting every cell of his body for the extraordinary woman before him.

She laughed as he spun her around, feeling the warmth of his neck beneath her palms before curling her delicate fingers into his hair with a grin which he copied with awestruck eyes before pulling her towards his lips.

Clay sat against the seat of his bike, waiting for the makeout session to die down - pursing his lips and sighing impatiently when it didn't.

The entangled pair was startled by a loud honking, whipping their heads in the direction of the offending noise to see Clay wailing on his horn, effectively stopping the pair of murderous horndogs.

"Think the rest of us can thank our Princess?" He asked with a sly grin before Tig chuckled nervously and set Sydney down to the pavement.

"Wanna talk some more shit about my Ninja? They didn't have a fucking _clue_ that I was with you guys." The cocky blonde bragged the second that her feet were on the ground - fired up from the win.

"You been holdin onto that?" Clay chuckled.

"Sure have." She nodded with a cocky smile.

"You did good." He nodded. "And you make the vest look good." He added with a wink.

"I'd make a kutte look better." She quipped with a smirk.

"I never thought I'd be saved by a slanter in short-shorts." Jax grinned as he threw his arm around the shoulders of his unlikely hero. Sydney smiled in response, accepting whatever praise she could get from the VP, which reminded her…

"Y'aint got anything to say about how I took down their whole crew without spilling blood? You know, the _Jackson Teller_ way." Jax responded with a discerning smirk before earning himself a warning glare from Tig when his arm lingered around her shoulders too long, pulling away with a smug expression.

"Get everyone here, you can fill us in." Clay's disappointment towards Jax quickly resurfaced as he turned toward the clubhouse.

Jax bit the inside of his cheek in response to the request - knowing that his angry stepfather was already onto him and that he would have to come up with a damn good explanation if he wanted to get his way.

"Let surrounding charters know." The VP clapped Tig on the shoulder, successfully busying the Sergeant so that he could get some face time with the one person that he knew could help him. The question was if she would or not...

Tig was seated on top of a picnic table with his elbow resting on his knee. He squinted in the bright afternoon sun, holding the burner to his ear as he informed all surrounding charters of the recent breakthrough with the Mayans so that they could err on the side of caution with their Mexican rivals. His heartbeat picked up when Sydney emerged from the clubhouse after shedding her heavy bulletproof vest and riding jacket, walking past him with a wink while she swung those perfect hips back and forth - eventually arriving at his bike where she bent right over it, giving him a show as she rifled through the saddlebag.

"Hey baby." The curly haired man blinked a few times, snapping out of his daydream to see that Sydney was now standing in front of him, smoothing her hands up his thighs. "You seen my sunglasses?"

"Nah." He answered quickly, not letting himself subscribe to the ideas that she was planting in his mind.

"You wanna come help me find em?" She sing-songed as she tilted her head with crazy eyes and a suggestive smirk, leaning her weight onto her hands that rested on his legs.

His expression fell as she dangled herself in front of him, knowing full well just how riled up he already was.

"You know I'm busy babe…" He whined with a grimace, hoping she would have some mercy on him.

"Okay." She pouted, turning away from him.

"Hey." His large hand gripped her bicep, pulling her back to him. "Later." He raised his brows and nodded reassuringly.

"Sure." She replied quickly with a nod, the mock-understanding in her tone letting him know that she intended to make him pay for this.

His jaw clenched, grinding his teeth as he pulled his gaze from her to return to his task, only for it to be pulled right back as she waltzed over to his bike, laying back against the seat and kicking her feet up.

"Hey Princess, you c'mere for a sec? Need to make an order." Jax nodded from the doorway of the office, stopping her from lighting the joint she'd intended to smoke while soaking up some sun in an attempt to calm the adrenaline she was still harbouring.

Tig snarled when she perked up at Jax's request, the sight only adding to his frustration over the fact that the exact man drooling over her, was the one who had busied him to the point where he couldn't properly take care of his woman.

"What d'you need to ord-" Sydney's question was cut off when Jax surprised her, coming out from behind the open door and attempting to shut it before she stopped it with her boot.

"If you close that door you are going to have a _very_ angry Sergeant on your hands." She mused with a slow shake of her head. "And I'm guessing that you've already got those hands full..."

"I need your help." Jax shook his head, wiping the 'deer in the headlights' look off of his face after she had surprised him with her quick reflexes.

Sydney's amusement quickly faded, exhaling sharply as she made her way across the office, shaking her head and sinking into the chair.

"You fucking provoked them, didn't you?"

"You don't understand." He pleaded with the angry woman.

"You have a _very_ small window of time to make me understand." Her sharp statements and clenched jaw had Jax thinking that perhaps he had bitten off more than he could chew when he thought that the aspiring Son would be on his side.

"Jury was my dad's best friend. Clay slapped a reaper over their backs out of nowhere - he lost half his club and if I didn't do something to get him protection, he was gonna lose the other half."

"Old history doesn't mean you can go behind the club's back. Did you think any further than the one thing you wanted to accomplish?" He winced as she began spitting the harsh truths at him. "What if Bobby died? What if they went and torched Jury's clubhouse, just like they did the warehouse? What if they called up Alvarez and ordered a hit on your mother? On Tara? On your fucking child?" She slammed her hand down on the desk. "These are things you have to think about, Jackson."

"You really do deserve a spot at that table." He chuckled humorlessly. If there was anything he had learned about her - it was that flattery was his best bet, and they didn't call him Prince Charming for nothing.

"Why are you putting this burden on me? I don't want to know your secrets." Knowing Jax's secrets meant that Sydney would have to either betray him, or the club - and there was no way that she would choose the latter.

"I just need you to back me. Clay won't listen to me right now, his head is too clouded with all this bullshit." He shook his head.

"_His_ head is too clouded?" She barked out a laugh.

Jax clenched his jaw when she laughed in his face, his patience running out and his anger building towards the cocky little girl on the other side of the desk.

Sydney raised a brow and narrowed her eyes in challenge at his change of expression, shocked by the audacity of the man who was practically begging at her feet.

"You want my help? You better pack away that big boy temper." She sneered as she began rising to her feet, slowly leaning across the desk. "If you can pull your head out of your ass long enough to tell me exactly what it is that you need me to do, real nicely…" She cocked her head. "Maybe I'll consider it."

"You help me, I'll help you get patched." The Vice President stared back into the smoky green gaze that never faltered, matching her intensity.

Sydney was taken aback by his proposal. Yes - she wanted to get patched, and she would be lying if she denied that she considered it for a second, but she wanted to get patched the right way, for the right reason.

"You tryin to bribe me now?" She squinted in offence.

"The club needs people who think smart and quick like you do." His head shook with sincerity.

Sydney ran her tongue under her top lip, not letting up on her harsh expression as she pondered the true depth of his words.

"I'm not lying for you." She put her terms in place.

"I don't need you to, just back whatever I say to Clay."

She turned to leave, saying nothing - deciding that she would see how things played out at church before she made any commitments.

"Bring me a beer. You ruined my mood."

Jax smirked at her request as she passed through the door, glad to have gotten a humorous response rather than an angry one.

Tig watched Sydney emerge from the office looking significantly less eager than she did when she went in, which helped the twinge of jealousy in the back of his mind. What happened next though, had his eyes bugging right back out of his head as he watched his old lady strip her top off for not the first; but the second time today, retaking her stretched out position on his bike - only adding insult to injury.

Jax was surprised when he returned from the bar to see Sydney laid out on Tig's bike once again - and with her shirt off this time. He smirked, _she must _really _be going for a reaction_...

"You're already on his radar, I'd suggest you stop staring." She deadpanned without opening her eyes, reaching out her hand to receive her requested beverage. Jax snorted, handing off the cold bottle and sauntering back to the garage.

The next thirty minutes of the sun's soothing rays, warm leather beneath her skin, cold beer, and the sound of members trickling in on their Harleys had successfully calmed Sydney down after the exciting chase and the bogus request of her VP.

"Think she's got like, magic pussy?" Juice asked Bobby as they gazed upon Sydney defiling Tig's bike while he glared at her from across the compound.

"She's gotta have somethin magic to whip him." Bobby surmised with wide eyes and raised brows.

Sydney smirked when a shadow cast over her, knowing that it was Tig even as her eyes remained closed behind the dark lenses of her aviators.

"You wanted me washing your bike in a bikini…" She reminded him, flinching when he ghosted a fingertip across her collarbone, down her cleavage, between her tits and over her belly button.

"Yeah…" Tig answered disapprovingly.

"Church!" Clay barked from the clubhouse, providing a distraction that Sydney was thankful for. She swung her legs down off the handlebars, sitting up and shaking her hair out before pulling the distressed top back over the black lace of her bralette.

"Come on, Tiggy." She held her hand out eagerly to the distraught man who took it haphazardly.

Once they entered the chapel, Sydney took the liberty of sitting in Chibs' usual seat - which just happened to be right next to Tig, brushing her fingers over his thigh.

Clay, Jax, Juice, and Bobby all took their respective seats, but Sydney saw a new face was sitting at the table today as Half-Sack walked in, getting a nod from the President and sitting in front of the reaper for the first time. She grinned at her friend, sharing his excitement in the significant moment.

Clay looked to Jax expectantly as he waited for an explanation, the VP immediately shaking his head in an attempt to display his innocence.

"They were waitin for us man, stopped to take a piss just over the border and they ambushed us."

Sydney almost couldn't withhold the urge to roll her eyes at Jax's horrible delivery of what _would've_ been a half decent lie. She channelled the restlessness elsewhere, hoistering her jittery legs over Tig's lap - taking full advantage of Chibs' absence.

Clay looked to Bobby for confirmation but he stayed silent with his lips pursed - a reaction that did not satisfy the club's President.

"You promised this would be under the radar! Now I got Mayan beef beyond the borders to worry about when our customer base is already shaky to begin with?"

"We need a bigger presence in Nevada if this is gonna work out." Jax shrugged.

Any effort that Sydney had conjured up to help Jax was being chucked out the window with extreme force as he made absolutely _no_ attempt to try and hide what his true intentions had been from the beginning.

"I barely had enough manpower to come escort your asses home and you want me to send help to another charter? Indian Hills needs to learn to protect themselves!" Jax looked to Sydney, silently begging her but getting no response before continuing to plead his case.

"They need our help or there aint gonna be an Indian Hills!" The VP raised his voice considerably in frustration when his green eyed insurance policy seemingly fell through.

"Vegas." Sydney stated - if she was going to get Jax what he wanted, she was going to do it her way.

"What?" Clay shook his head in confusion.

"Have Vegas head to Indian Hills for back up until we can gather a group big enough to head out and pitch the guns. When we get up there, we let them know that they'll be fending for themselves from then on and that the only way they'll be able to do that is with our guns. Jack up the price since they don't know any better, lower it back down to our usual profit after one year - let them think they're getting a deal from their charitable brothers."

Even though the solution benefitted Clay, he still gave Jax a menacing glance - knowing that he had done something to push them to this conclusion. "Send them up." He ordered Juice.

"What about Mayan retaliation?" Tig asked.

"Yeah, I bet them wetbacks are all thirsty for blood after your little stunt today." Bobby looked to Sydney.

"_Excuse me_?" The words bellowed from deep in her chest as she dropped any precious patience that she'd managed to get her hands on. "My '_little stunt'_?" She spat with a sour expression, swinging her legs down from their propped up position across Tig's lap.

Clay squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled sharply through his nose while Jax and Bobby both sat back, bracing themselves for what they had just provoked. Half-Sack pushed his chair back slowly as Sydney grew angrier and angrier while Tig squeezed her thigh in an attempt to calm her down.

"My 'little stunt', saved your asses today. My 'little stunt', was to get you out of whatever the fuck you stirred up in Nevada!" She waved her hands about angrily as a backup plan when Tig's ring adorned hand kept her in her seat. "You want me to throw you to the wolves next time? Leave you lying dead in a ditch? I will."

"Alright, alright." Clay sighed. "Princess' got a point." He nodded, glaring at the occupants to his left. "It don't look like we got much to worry about but just in case, I want you on guard and you on the compound." He pointed to Tig, then to Sydney. "And when I say guard, I mean _guard_. No pussy." He looked between the couple like a cop scolding a pair of teenagers caught making out in a car.

Sydney smirked, more ideas coming to her of how she could torture Tig throughout the night if he had direct orders not to touch her. Tig took the opposite approach, about to whine in protest but stopping when he saw the warning gaze from his President - the same warning gaze he'd already earned himself once today - hanging his head and nodding his confirmation.

"We gonna talk about that $200k?" Juice floated the idea cautiously, knowing that they were on a time crunch to come up with the cash.

"Not now." Clay shook his head as it rested in his hands, not wanting to worry about the hefty debt while he had so many other things weighing on his mind that he clearly couldn't offload onto his VP - as he should've been able to. "Start thinking up ideas, pulling together what we have. We'll discuss it tomorrow." Tig hurried out of the chapel to begin stockpiling the weapons around the clubhouse while Clay and Bobby quickly filed out as well, hoping to avoid Sydney's wrath.

"What the hell was that?" Jax sneered quietly once the two blondes were alone, his face twitching as he seethed. "Threatening and blackmailing them wasn't part of our deal."

"You should've been more clear with your terms." Sydney lips curled up as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"This is bullshi-"

She took a step forward, not stopping until she was just inches away from him. "You would be sitting pretty with _shit_ _all_ if it wasn't for me, so the only words that I should be hearing from your mouth are 'thank' and 'you'." He stared stoically, holding his ground as she got in his face. "It's the power of negotiation Jaxy, it would do you some good to learn it, _especially_ if you want to be President one day." Her eyes narrowed before she backed away.

Tig dropped an armload of various guns on the pool table when Jax stormed out of the chapel, shoving the clubhouse door open and kicking it shut behind him. He turned toward the chapel with a scowl as Sydney emerged with a smirk.

"The hell was that about?" He questioned with a raised brow, wondering why his old lady whispering in the shadows with Jax was something he'd seen multiple times today.

"The Prince aint too happy about my idea to threaten Indian Hills." She answered as she stared at the door, rubbing his shoulder reassuringly before hopping up onto the pool table. "Looks like that means we got the clubhouse all to ourselves tonight." She mused suggestively.

"You heard what-" Tig began, stuttering regrettably as she shook his head, unable to believe what was about to come out of his mouth. "You heard what Clay said, no pussy."

"Who said anything about pussy?" She tilted her head to the side, feigning confusion, letting Tig know that he was in for a night of temptation.

He stared her down with a hint of warning in his blue gaze, determined to wipe the smug look off of that pretty face but all he got was a smile as she beamed back at him, making him jerk his eyes away and return his attention to the pile of iron in front of him.

Sydney's lips curled up when he cowered under her gaze, reminding her of the days not long ago where neither of them would give into the temptation - which was going to be the theme of her game tonight.

"Alright well, if I'm quarantined here for the night, I'm going home to get supplies." She jumped down and began her strut to the door.

"Woah woah." He grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. "Nah, you stay put." He narrowed his eyes as he looked down on her, shaking his head.

"You really think I can't handle mysel-"

"You wanna be a good old lady?" He cut off the beginning of her smug protest, pressing a hand to her chest and began walking her backwards, her face falling as his carefully chosen words placed a seriousness on the encounter that she hadn't expected. "Good old ladies do as they're told. Good old ladies don't tease other men." Her back hit the counter right as the fierce words left his mouth, his eyes burning holes into her as he reminded her of her place verbally since he couldn't do it physically. "Good old ladies don't disrespect their old man's ride." The fire returned to her eyes when he finished off strong. "Surely your daddy taught you that?" He squinted, knowing that growing up with bikers meant that she knew how to treat a man's Harley.

"Maybe my daddy needs to teach me." She rasped with the same challenging squint.

Tig chuckled at her clever response, pulling away. "You aint leavin." He scolded, walking back to the pool table to finish his original task.

"You gonna keep me entertained?" She crossed her arms, huffing in frustration.

"We'll see. Drop the attitude." He dismissed her, smirking discreetly when he heard her stomping away.

Sydney stormed down the hallway, shutting the door to his room and ripping her clothes off, pulling one of his t-shirts over her naked form and walking back out to where he was.

Tig looked up from the guns when he heard her footsteps, much quieter now than they had been earlier - looking up to see her barefoot, wearing nothing but his shirt.

"What the hell are you wearing?" She bit the inside of her cheek to try and contain the laugh she was fighting as he grew more and more annoyed.

"A shirt?"

"And?" He motioned to her clearly bare lower half, the black S.O.A. shirt barely covering her ass.

"Well you won't let me leave so I have to improvise." She shrugged.

"You have stuff in my dresser." He shook his head as she began sauntering up to him, swaying her body slowly with every step.

"I told you the other day that I needed to bring more… And this is comfy, baby." She pouted, widening her eyes as she rounded the pool table and looked up at him innocently.

"God, you are such a pain in my ass." He growled playfully, lifting her to sit on the pool table while he sorted through the weapons.

"I'm just keeping you on your toes." She smirked as she leant back, pressing her foot to his chest.

Tig looked down at the blood red toenails against the leather of his kutte, his eyes trailing down her leg to where she was spread in front of him: pantiless. He quickly snapped her legs shut, not allowing his mind to even begin on the path to where she wanted it.

"What if someone shows up, huh? Then what?" He nodded to her naked lower half.

"Well then I guess that would mean you're doing a shitty job keeping guard." He chuckled, attempting to ignore her once again. "Why don't you just set up a tripwire? That way you don't even have to pay attention to what _might_ be going on out there, and you can focus on what's going on right here." She spoke with a rasp as she spread her legs slowly.

"Jax might come back." He kept his eyes averted.

"Would that really be the worst thing?" She snorted, hopping off the table to grab a drink when she realized that he wasn't giving in.

Tig's forehead creased when she spoke ill of Jax, reigniting the curiosity he'd had earlier. "What was he talking to you about? When I was on the phone." He followed her over to the table she and her bottle of Jack had claimed.

"Needed help ordering a specialty part, didn't have the code." She spoke casually as she twisted the cap off of the bottle and rested her bare legs on the table top, fiddling with her necklace.

"You're not tellin me somethin." Tig hadn't lied at the beach when he'd told her that he'd learned her body language. He knew by the way she flicked around the gold chain, that she wasn't being honest with him.

"You sayin I'm a liar?" She challenged with a raised brow.

"Bold move for someone who's blatantly lying." Tig scoffed. "I'm saying that I don't want secrets between us." He surprised himself by the patience that he had with the mouthy woman, a tender explanation being the last thing that anyone - including himself - would've expected from him.

Sydney took a deep breath, feeling the guilt punching her in the stomach. "There are things I can't tell you and I know there are things you can't tell me. Let's just agree to turn a blind eye."

"I don't wanna be lied to by the woman I love." Tig had been through the ringer when it came to lying in relationships. He had only ever lied to his exes about things regarding the club, but Colleen had taken the sin and ran to the hills with it - using it as an excuse to cheat and poison the minds of their daughters, making them believe that their dad was nothing but a scumbag. Sydney was his last chance to do things right, the first and only woman that he didn't _have_ to lie to.

"You think love equals transparency?" She chuckled humorlessly. "I think you'd still be married if that was the case."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far." He chuckled half heartedly at her joke.

She returned the meaningless smile, thinking on the words that she'd spoken - _transparency, _the one thing that Gemma had told her she needed to keep the spot in Tig's heart, from the beginning. She thought back to her days in San Bernardino when the club would only tell her what she needed to know, for their benefit. She didn't want to live like that anymore… Of course there would be times where transparency wasn't an option - secrets, ignorance and denial were how she survived in this life as a woman, but she knew that those tactics would only do the opposite in a relationship. Sticking to her comfort zone wouldn't work if the situations that she continued to place herself in, resided elsewhere. If she _really_ wanted to be with Tig, she had to make the effort.

"If I'm gonna be transparent with you, it has to go both ways." She met his eyes with a soft, emerald gaze.

"I never thought I could be transparent with someone, before I met you." Tig nodded, his eyes falling to the wood grain on the table.

"He provoked the Mayans. Insists on getting Jury protection and thought I could help sway the club in his favor."

"Why would he go to you?"

"Knows I'm persuasive, I guess." She chuckled, choosing to ignore the accusation in his tone in an attempt to lighten the dreary conversation.

"You are persuasive." He grinned suggestively, glad that she hadn't gone on the defense over his temporary slip up fueled by insecurity.

"Not persuasive enough, apparently." She scoffed. "I'm not sure what's going on with him, but I know it's bad for the club. On top of all the other shit he's been pulling? He's asking questions. The closer I get to him, the better I can protect us."

"It aint your job to protect us, you're not a member." Tig hadn't meant to put his foot in his mouth, but if it kept her away from Jax, and from putting her life at risk for him - he could live with it.

"I don't give a shit what my job is. The club is family, they protect their own." She snapped, ignoring the sting of his words.

"He doesn't wanna rebuild." He used the valuable piece of information to change the subject.

"What?" Sydney wasn't exactly _surprised, _this was her suspicion all along - but what did surprise her, was his confirmation of it.

"Fourth of July party, he suggested we take the money and put it in something else."

"Jesus Christ… D'you think it's just a phase? Some identity crisis now that he has Abel?"

"He aint a teenager Syd, he's a grown man."

"Fair point." She snorted.

"I don't know what the right move is, but he worries the shit out of me."

"What does Clay think?" Sydney knew that Jax had set up a permanent residence on Clay's radar, but she wondered if he'd confided in his Sergeant with his concerns, more than he had her.

"I think he hopes it'll pass but… I wasn't kidding when I said that crossing Clay wasn't something that you want to do." He stared at her hard - trying to tell her with his eyes, what he couldn't with his words.

"Then what was that shit today on the escort?" She questioned with a hint of playfulness in her voice that Tig completely ignored.

"You could've been hurt." He shook his head bitterly when she brought up the incident that he kept trying to forget.

Normally, Sydney would've spouted off something about how everything she did in this life could get her hurt, but she wondered where his sudden worries were coming from, when they started…

"Does this have anything to do with what happened in Santa Cru-"

"No." Tig cut her off, knowing that if he even thought about entertaining her theory, he would snap. "I don't wanna see you lying on the side of the highway." He finished with as much of the truth as he could will himself to give, standing and swiping the bottle from her hands, guzzling down the numbing brown liquid in an attempt to silence his thoughts before they could start.

Sydney let her eyes fall closed when he wouldn't give her the truth after _he_ was the one who had said that he wanted transparency. She took a deep breath before pushing her chair back, the wood scraping loudly against the waxed floors of the bar.

"It's like I said." Her voice got his attention from across the room. "There are things that we can't tell eachother." She nodded before disappearing down the hallway.


	26. Infiltration

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 26: INFILTRATION**

Even if the sleepless night was an order and not a choice, it didn't make Tig feel any better. He spent the night walking the fine line between impaired enough to silence any deep thoughts; and alert enough to handle a threat if needed. He rested his chin on his folded hands as the sun slowly rose, pouring dim, blue light through the windows of the bar.

Sydney had moved to Happy's bed during the night. Both dorm mattresses were subpar and unoccupied, but she felt less alone as she tossed and turned in the Tacoma Killer's bed like she was used to doing - than she did in Tig's. She laid on her back, staring at the slow spinning of the ceiling fan as the room started to fill with the first light of the early morning hours.

Clay accompanied Gemma on the early morning ride to the office so that he could relieve his Sergeant of the night's watch. He was pleased with the fact that so far - despite the efforts of his rogue VP - it seemed that their visit to Nevada hadn't landed on Alvarez's table.

Tig tipped back his whiskey when he finally heard the rumbling of a Harley pulling into the lot - needing to get as wasted as possible in the short time between now, and when he would be condemned to the uncertainty of sleep, ignoring the questioning look his President gave him when he entered the clubhouse to see him draining a bottle at 7:00 A.M.

"Call me for church later." Sydney announced as she bounded out of the hallway before Clay could ask his questions, as if she had been waiting for the first opportunity to get the hell out of there. He scowled as he turned to watch her storm out the door before turning back to the dark haired man.

"Do I even ask?"

"No, no you don't." Tig slurred, shaking his head as he pushed himself off of the table, dropping the empty bottle before stumbling to his dorm where he knew Sydney hadn't slept - the simple fact pinching at his heart, signifying that he wasn't drunk enough. He grabbed a bottle from his personal stash and spun the cap off, gulping it down as he fell backwards onto the bed.

Gemma had taken the liberty of informing Clay on Tig's recent breakthrough of the heinous memories he harboured over what he had done all those years ago - memories that the older man had almost completely forgotten with how deep Tig had buried them - so he cut his Sergeant some slack. With all the bullshit that he had going on with his left hand, he couldn't risk losing his right.

"Oh uh… Hey. I didn't think you'd be here so early." Half-Sack greeted awkwardly from the doorway of the clubhouse, hoping to avoid a scolding for being late.

"Get these guns to the warehouse." Clay dismissed the prospect, nodding to the pile of automatics that Tig had left to be transported, while the hand guns had been safely stored around the clubhouse.

Hours later, Tig was out cold with no burden of horrible, vivid dreams - thanks to the alcohol properly serving its purpose.

"Wake up! We got church, shithead." Clay jostled the sleeping Sergeant, smacking him with a pillow - exercising some of his frustration in a way that could be seen as humorous.

The delirious man lifted his head, rubbing his eyes before he looked around the room in an attempt to focus them and regain control of his foggy brain.

"Alright man, I'm comin." He mumbled, rolling onto his side before mustering up the strength to sit up, the position he'd fallen asleep in with his legs dangling off the end of the bed had not been kind to his aging body. He straightened himself out and headed towards the chapel, desperately needing a shower to properly sober up but knowing that keeping Clay waiting any longer would only make things worse on himself.

"Sorry." He apologized half-heartedly as he closed the double doors behind him, avoiding Sydney's eyes on his way to his seat.

Clay tutted his tongue in disapproval before he turned his attention to what he had of his crew, ready to face all of the issues that he'd dreaded over the last few days. "Haven't heard anything on the Mayans." He began, looking to Jax for an update on Jury.

"Talked to Jury this morning, they haven't been touched yet." Clay nodded, glad that at least _one_ thing seemed to be contained for the time being.

"As soon as Hap is back and Juice can ride, we'll take a group up to Indian Hills."

Jax bit the inside of his cheek as he glared at Sydney for ruining his plan to protect his longtime family friend. It seemed that every time he tried to do the right thing, _someone_ had to fuck it up for him. Clay's reluctance to let him go to Nevada and speak to his father's friend alone had him putting more and more thought into the cryptic words written by his grieving father about the conflicting forces that had pushed his innocent ideas to darkness, greed, and blood.

"That brings us to the next order of business…" Clay tossed a glance to the blonde girl who was staying unusually quiet, sunken into her seat with her arms crossed. "What's this lookin like Bobby…"

"We've got about forty. If Laroy takes his regular order - plus the one we delayed on, and the glocks keep coming, we'll be over halfway there by the end of the week."

"What else can we do? We don't know when McKeevy's gonna be back…" Sydney shook her head.

"Talked to Chibs this morning, gonna double back in a few days. McKeevy's gonna drop him off, then head down south. As soon as he does, the clock starts tickin. But for right now, we got a few days grace period to keep thinkin shit up."

"I got a guy who'll buy since Indian Hills is delayed but… He aint gonna pay our usual prices." Piney announced from the head of the table opposite to his President. "Nate Meineke… An old friend."

"Set it up, we need anything we can get right now." Clay nodded, Jax joining in - expressing gratitude to the old man for his help.

"What's Laroy gonna say when he hears we're sellin for half price?" Tig rebutted the offer.

"Oh, no… Nate's not that kind of friend." Piney assured with a smirk.

"Uh Clay… You better get out here." Half-Sack flung the doors of the chapel open, looking over his shoulder at the security display screens positioned above the bar that showed the entirety of Charming PD heading in with guns drawn.

"Oh shit…" The President groaned as he gazed upon what was about to unfold. "Cops!" He hollered to his crew who all stood as quickly as possible while he attempted to get over to Gemma who was standing at the bar.

"Down!" He heard as the clubhouse door was kicked open, stopping in his tracks and placing his hands to the bartop as the sea of cops flooded the clubhouse, slamming members against the walls and to the ground.

Sydney had almost reached Clay when she heard the command to get down. She looked back at Tig who nodded, slowly sinking to his knees with his hands up. She nodded back, copying him as she watched everyone be taken to the ground, some rougher than others - thanks to the cops in the department who clearly did not share in Unser's opinion of the M.C. She spotted the Chief standing outside with his head down, visibly worried about how this was going down and what it would mean for him - which told her that he didn't order it. But if the Chief of police didn't order it, then who did?

"Hey! Get off of her!" Sydney's head snapped up to see a bald man wrestling Gemma to the ground, Clay breaking away from the two men holding him in place and yelling his profanities to the cop for laying hands on his wife. Before the angry man could do something he would regret, he was wrestled to the ground and forced onto his stomach next to her.

"I'm okay baby." Gemma tried to calm him, but her communication earned her a kick in the stomach from the piece of shit who had manhandled her in the first place.

"Hey!" Jax screamed, wiggling under the boot that was pressed to his back.

Tig pressed his nose to the wooden floor, shaking his head because he knew that if he focused on what was happening, he would earn himself a prison cell for the next few years.

Clay pushed himself up, the strength from his adrenaline having no regard for the force on top of him as he went to carry out what his first instinct had been all along. A wicked expression overtook Sydney's face when she saw the opportunity, baring her teeth in a sadistic grin as she pressed her cheek against the cold wood of the floor before pushing herself up.

"Syd!" She heard Tig yelling from behind her when he saw what she was doing.

Clay stopped before he could start something that he wouldn't be able to take back, but he didn't stop because he wanted to - he stopped because the man he'd gone to attack was already being attacked.

Sydney had managed to get up and launch herself towards the power-hungry cop, knocking him down onto his back and getting on top of him where she was able to get in one solid punch before she was hauled off of him and slammed down against the bartop, laughing sadistically as her arms were pulled behind her back. One solid punch was all she'd needed.

Clay thanked his green eyed savior with a blink from his position on the ground, expressing his gratitude for the fact that she fought back when he couldn't, put _her_ ass on the line to defend _his_ wife - something that he wouldn't forget.

Sydney winked to Clay as the cuffs tightened around her wrists and the dark haired man straightened her up by a yank to her blonde mane. "Mmm, pull my hair daddy." She laughed as she was walked out hastily, her cork wedges shuffling across the floor.

"No! Don't touch her!" Tig's screaming was all that could be heard, even amongst the comotion. If there was anything to sober him up and straighten out his mind - it was seeing his old lady being carted off in cuffs when there was nothing he could do about it. This was exactly the kind of thing that he had tried to talk her out of doing, just hours before.

"Tig!" Clay hollered, his booming voice serving it's purpose when the Sergeant finally stopped his ear piercing protests and looked to his President who simply nodded his assurance that everything would be okay.

"Aw… What the hell is this!" Unser groaned with a squint, his hands out in the air in frustration when he saw the little blonde girl being loaded into a squad car by one of his deputies - knowing that this would only add to Clay's anger that he already dreaded.

"Little bitch took a shot on Lemmings."

"Oh uh… Put her in my car. I'll take her down to the station." The Chief nodded, thankful for an excuse to get out of there - and an excuse that may help him plead his case, at that.

The middle-aged officer nodded hesitantly to his superior, jerking the giggling woman toward Chief's car and practically throwing her inside, slamming the door with force when she started laughing.

"What the hell was that?" Unser spoke once the coast was clear, looking into his rearview mirror at the innocent looking girl, the metal cuffs on her wrists reminding him that she was anything but.

"I should be asking you the same thing." She stared back into the mirror at the old man, narrowing her eyes and raising a brow as he began driving to the station.

"Who the hell are you?" He shook his head incredulously. For the entire time the cop had worked with outlaws, he never knew a woman to be so involved in the club's business - not even Gemma. He scoffed when she didn't respond to his question, looking into the mirror again to see her smirking knowingly, telling him that she was about to reiterate her cocky answer. "Okay, so I take it that you know what's going on here?"

"That I do, do you?" She leant forward. "Got a smoke?"

"What does that mean?" Unser scowled, looking over his shoulder before producing a cigarette and holding his lighter up behind him.

"I'll take that as a no." She chuckled, blowing smoke into the front of the vehicle before she sat back against the seat, cross legged. "Hey Chief, you mind rollin the window down? Give a girl some air…"

"You aint gonna go jumpin out and runnin off down the street, are ya?"

She leant in towards him again as he looked over his shoulder. "Well if I do, you're the one with the gun." She winked before laying down across the seats and sticking her legs out the open window.

"Woah! That's not what I thought you meant when you said you wanted the window open."

"I'm disappointed Wayne." She brought the cigarette to her lips. "I thought you would've known more about negotiating with terrorists."

"You want a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt too?"

"Eh, may as well add it to the list." She shrugged.

"Okay well-" Unser grumbled in defeat. "You gonna answer my question?"

"Don't know, you gonna answer mine?" She countered, taking a drag.

"I didn't know about the raid." He sighed. "Hale got the order from A.T.F. after a tip about a shoot out yesterday involving bikers. Organized it behind my back, I didn't have time to give a heads up."

"I suggest that you tell Clay that as soon as possible, because the reason I'm sittin in here with you is the very reason that he's gonna have you cremated by two o'clock tomorrow."

"What? Why?" He scowled. "The search turned up nothin."

"They hurt Gemma."

"What?" He exclaimed, whipping his head around - a reaction much stronger than Sydney had expected.

"Damn, you two used to date or somethin?" She scoffed. "She's fine, but Clay wasn't. That's why I'm here instead of him."

"He put you up to it?" He ignored her speculation.

"Call it... _Instinct_."

"What, you some kind of hero or somethin?" He squinted as he pulled into the station lot, the cryptic words of the blonde girl only confusing him more.

"You could say that." She smirked before retaking a normal seating position so that he could bring her in formally.

"I'll make sure he doesn't press charges." He announced with his head down once he'd killed the engine.

"You trying to make it up to us?"

"Maybe…" He lied, keeping the real reason for his protection of the club to himself, the same way he'd done for decades.

"Looks like we got that warehouse just in time…" Clay hung his head as he sat before the reaper, thinking on how close they came to being caught.

"Why the hell are we just sittin here man? We gotta go get her!" Tig yelled.

"Relax." Clay winced. Tig had been a mess since he walked into the clubhouse this morning, and the current situation had only turned him into a ticking time bomb. "That girl doesn't do _shit_ that she don't wanna do. If she got herself locked up, it was because she wanted to." He had absolutely no worries for Sydney's wellbeing - she was safe in Unser's cage and he knew by that smug little wink earlier that there was more to the story.

"She's a liability. Gonna get us in trouble." Jax shook his head.

"I don't think you wanna be talkin about liabilities here son…" Clay warned.

"We be there to post bail once she's processed." Tig interrupted what was sure to be yet another father-son argument.

"We be there when we get the call." Clay narrowed his eyes at Tig who walked further and further over the line - the line that had already been extended for him.

"I don't give a shit about a phone call!"

"Yeah, well I do! What I give a shit about right now is finding out why the hell Unser didn't give us a heads up about that raid! I give a shit about coming up with $200k. What I _don't _give a shit about, is your need to know her every move!" The frustration boiled over when Clay couldn't count on the two people who were supposed to be his support - the ones who were supposed to back his calls and not question them.

Tig hung his head in defeat. He knew he was acting irrationally but the way that his mind spiralled, it was just so easy to let it take over…

"Nobody. And I mean _nobody_ tells Happy about this." Clay scolded his table, the chorus of affirmations that the statement earned him was the quickest favorable consensus that had been reached in months.

"Think Unser's still upset about blackmail?" Jax piped up, seizing the opportunity to shine while Clay's anger had been directed elsewhere.

"Maybe, but why make it worse on himself?" Opie answered.

"The Chief aint ever been the 'send a message' type, I don't see why he would start now."

"Maybe he didn't know?"

"Only way that something would've gone past Unser is if it came down from above, and we've managed to steer clear of A.T.F. thus far." As soon as Clay spoke the words, he realized what had happened. Someone must've seen them at the Mayan shootout yesterday, the shootout that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Jax… "I'll talk to Unser, but if they aint questionin us, it means they don't got shit, it's all smoke." His tone held nothing but finality, effectively picked up by his crew as they cleared out quickly. He didn't want to worry his men with the possible threat of A.T.F. when they needed to be focusing on making enough money to pay the Irish debt.

"You gonna tell me what that shit was yesterday?" Clay asked Tig as he was about to exit the chapel.

"Don't know man." He pursed his lips as he shook his head.

"Come on Tigger, you can't lie to me." Clay softened his tone.

The dark haired man stood still, hanging his head when his friend tugged on his heartstrings purposely. "On that highway… I saw." He shook his head, not willing to face the picture forming in his mind that he was presented with during the chase. "Nevermind."

"Tig… She's not Juli-"

"Don't!" He stopped the dreaded name that was about to leave Clay's mouth. "Don't say her name." He squeezed his eyes shut as they filled with tears.

"She don't need protection." Clay walked over, gripping his friend's shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly. "You need to remember who she is. She isn't _her_."

"I can't." Tig looked up with watery eyes as he shook his head.

"You can't because you're not lettin yourself. You keep treating her like she's someone she aint, you'll lose her anyway." The President turned to leave.

"As long as she's safe." Clay heard Tig mumble from the chapel as he passed through the doors, shaking his head in worry for the steadily plummeting morale of his club.

"Hey, hey! What is she doing here?" Sydney heard an angry voice from across the police station, turning to see David Hale stomping over to where she stood with Unser who had collected and bagged her belongings.

"Nice to see you too, David." She smiled sarcastically.

"Oh, I see you two have met." Unser nodded, skipping the introductions. "She swung on Lemmings…" He replied with a smirk. Even though he and his straightlaced deputy were on opposing sides for just about everything - one of the few things they agreed on was their opinion of the cocky bald man who thought that a badge at a small town cop shop made him some kind of dictator.

"Did she get him?" Hale responded with his usual hard ass tongue, but there was a small smirk on his face. Unser looked to Sydney, who smiled and nodded. "I'll take her from here." Hale nodded to his Chief who looked to him wearily, wondering what exactly supplied his interest in the young girl - and if that interest could get him in trouble.

"It's okay Wayne, I'll scream if I need ya." Sydney winked, she had gotten all the information that she needed from the Chief for now.

Unser nodded after a moment's hesitation, putting all of his confidence in her that she would not give up anything that the scheming deputy could possibly use against the Sons - or against him.

Hale led Sydney to an interview room towards the front of the station when he saw Tara Knowles climbing out of a black car. The blue eyed man had always had a bit of a crush on the quiet girl that he'd known for a majority of his life, never quite getting over her even after she had settled for the likes of none other than Jax Teller.

"Sit down, I'll be right in." He instructed the handcuffed woman before he closed the door quickly.

"Tara… Hi." David greeted the beautiful brunette as she walked through the station doors.

Sydney perked up when she heard the familiar name, wondering why Tara would be at the police station - wondering if she had something to do with the tip that caused the raid... She got up, pressing her chained wrists against her thighs to avoid noise as she shuffled closer to the door to listen in.

"Hi." Tara smiled. "Uh, about the other day at the hospital… When I said I had a question?"

"Yes, I remember. That question that was 'too dramatic' to ask?"

"Yeah, that one… Um, okay, I'm just gonna ask." She shook her head and laughed nervously. "If I had a restraining order against someone in another city, would it still be valid if I went someplace else?"

"Well that all depends. Every state is a little different. You think that 'someone' might be coming here?"

Sydney was glad to hear that Jax's fixation wasn't the rat - not needing an opportunity for Gemma to prove her wrong. However, the nature of Tara's question brought her back to the day at the hospital when the doctor had gotten spooked by that phone call, wondering if the two were linked.

"Do you wanna give me his name? I'll run it through the syste-"

"No, that's okay." Tara stopped him. "I'm just being paranoid."

Sydney wanted to scream from the other side of the door when she heard Tara brushing off what could potentially be a _very_ dangerous situation - seeing firsthand what happened when abuse went unattended to by an outside force. She scurried back to her seat when she realized that the voices had stopped, not needing Hale to catch her eavesdropping before she had found out what she'd come for.

Tara's feet scuffed against the pavement as she willed herself to ignore the 'flight' portion of her 'fight or flight' instincts kicking in. She slammed her car door shut, hyperventilating as soon as she was alone. She knew Kohn wasn't fucking around like he had been in Chicago. The photos, the cryptic messages, the following her to Charming and claiming it was for business… She'd had no idea that until today, Chicago was all just the beginning - the full story becoming very clear when he'd told her to drive by the clubhouse if she wanted to see what her future with Jax looked like. The raid was just a sick way for him to show her what he was capable of - that he could orchestrate an entire takedown with the snap of his fingers. She didn't know what to do, she was no match for the power and connections of a fed, which was why she had returned back to Charming, the one place where _maybe_ her word would be credible compared to his...

"Who the hell is Josh Kohn?" Sydney heard Unser yelling, likely at Hale who was just outside the door.

"A.T.F., Chicago. Looking into your favorite M.C." Hale answered smugly. "Followed Jax Teller to that warehouse a few weeks back. You know… The one that your boys were using as their gun factory."

"You aint got shit to prove it."

"That may be so, but he also witnessed a few of the members in a shootout out on 88 yesterday."

"That's why you raided their clubhouse for guns…" Unser surmised aloud. "The _tip_ came from A.T.F.? Why aint they here then?"

"Not enough evidence… Yet." He sneered as he turned his back on his Chief, feeling like he was finally gaining some ground on the corrupt system in his hometown.

Hale entered the room with all the equipment he needed to book Sydney for the assault. He was so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the events that had taken place over the last hour that he hadn't even gotten time to breathe a sigh of relief for the fact that he'd managed to take over her case, knowing that someone else would've dug up her records that he'd buried the day before.

"Just couldn't resist me, huh?" Sydney grinned as the man closed the door behind him, lifting her hand to touch her necklace before lowering it slowly when she remembered that it had been taken.

"I'm doing my job." He grunted, pulling up a chair beside her, filling out her fingerprint sheet in silence. "J-a-d-e?" He confirmed the spelling of her middle name.

"You're smarter than you look." She smirked.

"I know you were heading to that chase on 88 yesterday…" He surmised after a few more moments of silence.

"Hmm…" Sydney dropped her voice. "If I remember correctly, I was brought in on an assault charge, not an attempted murder with a deadly weapon charge, but I admire your persistence, deputy. I'm something of an opportunist myself." She winked with a cocky smirk.

"I see that." His jaw clenched. "You ever been printed before?" He gestured to the inkpad.

"Well I think you already know the answer to that." She tilted her head.

"He's going to be pressing charges." He sneered, grabbing her hand and stamping her fingers as quickly as possible.

"You sure about that?" Her suggestive green gaze bore into him, only serving to piss him off that much more.

"You can stay here until someone posts your bail." He slammed the inkpad closed and pushed himself up from the metal table.

"You think I'm too pretty for the cage?"

"I figured I'd save you from getting raped by the scum that filters through those bars."

"Sounds like a mighty good time." She moaned seductively in a southern accent.

"I guess you're used to it." He smiled sarcastically before yanking her up by the chain on the handcuffs, dragging her to the back of the station house that contained the holding cells.

She smirked as he pushed her inside and slammed the metal bars behind her, staring him down as he left before she made herself comfortable on the sorry excuse of a mattress, kicking her feet up and preparing herself to enjoy the silence of the empty cages until her charges were dropped.

Hours later, as the day came to a close and shifts swapped, Sydney started wondering if Unser would even be able to convince the bald man with a bruised ego, not to press charges. She knew that since she hadn't gotten a phone call or the opportunity to contact a lawyer - that the charges were not final, but she had expected to have been released by now if they were being dropped. She eventually fell asleep, waking up sometime around 6:00 A.M. if she had to guess by the colour of the sky in the sliver of a window across the room. She sat up from the hard mattress, stretching her denim covered legs and rolling her eyes as her stomach growled, _of course_ they'd forgotten to feed their only prisoner.

"You hungry?" She was surprised to look up and see Hale approaching her cell.

"And here I was thinking that you guys were just gonna let me wither away." She joked. "Thought you'd be long gone by now."

"I offered the night watch." The reality was that Hale couldn't get a start on his true task until after his scheduled shift and after that he'd lost track of time digging into Sydney's past, trying to find _some_ kind of usable intel on the feisty M.C. associate - so he needed a cover story for his colleagues.

"Our time together wasn't enough for ya?" She grinned.

The blue eyed man looked down to the concrete with a chuckle when she continued to flirt with him. Before he had thought that her theatrics were just a charming facade, but her persistent flirting had him questioning his previous evaluation of the new woman in town.

"What're you hungry for?" He looked back up at her.

"Probably nothin that you got." She grimaced. "I'll take a smoke?" He nodded, pulling a pack of Marlboro's out of his pocket along with a green lighter. "You go all the way to the store just for me, or are those yours?" She snorted before leaning in for him to light the end of her cigarette.

"Cop can't smoke?"

"Nah, not a clean one." She scoffed, exhaling a grey cloud.

He chuckled as he shoved the pack of smokes back into the chest pocket of his uniform, leaning against the wall next to the cage and looking down at her, watching as those pouty lips wrapped around the cigarette and sucked...

Sydney peered up at him through her eyelashes, staring for a few seconds with the cigarette in her mouth, gazing upon his softened expression - one that she hadn't seen since she'd met him - from where he stood so close to her. _Hook, line, and sinker._

"What're you guys searching the clubhouse for?" She asked softly as her eyes flicked down to his lips.

"What d'you think they're searching the clubhouse for?" His tone remained kind and soft. After hours of fussing over her records just to find that she was squeaky clean, he was desperate - hoping that maybe if he played her game, she would give him _something._

"Something that don't exist." She shook her head, taking another drag. "Got anything to do with that fed?" His eye twitched when she mentioned Kohn, cursing himself for allowing her to pick up information rather than it being the other way around.

"He wants a piece of the pie." He spoke cryptically.

"What about you Davey?" Sydney squinted as she blew smoke over the man's face and stamped out the butt against the brick wall. "You want a piece of that pie?"

"Seems like you know all about getting in on a piece of the pie…" He tipped his strong chin towards her.

"I've always been more of a cream pie kind of girl…" She smirked as his eyes fell to her cleavage which was pronounced in the black, low cut top she wore. "You know?" Her head tilted towards his.

"Yeah… Yeah I think I do." Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning down towards her lips, something that _definitely_ hadn't been part of his plan.

"Harding!" Hale was startled by the loud yelling behind him, turning to see a fellow officer looking at him disapprovingly. "Charges have been dropped. You're free to go." The hispanic man tossed the keys to his distracted colleague, giving him a look which told him that he was in _very_ hot water and that he had some serious explaining to do if he wanted to get out of this one.

"Who can I call to pick you up?" Hale choked out once they were alone again.

"I was hoping you could give me a lift?" She looked at him with that helpless pout that she'd perfected.

"Yeah… I could do that." He looked down at the gorgeous woman, the woman almost just had him risking his career -wondering how she had managed to charm her way into his heavily biased mind. He shook the thoughts away and turned to find the right key to let her free.

"Thanks Davey." Sydney rounded the confining bars. "I knew I could count on you." She tilted her head up, kissing him on the cheek before she turned and strutted out of the holding area as if walking out of a cell was a daily activity for her.

* * *

**… please don't hate me but, this might be my favorite chapter yet **

_**Song for this chapter: Manners - Ashnikko**_


	27. Iced Out

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 27: ICED OUT**

It was still relatively early by the time all of Sydney's paperwork was complete, her personal items had been returned, and she was free to leave. Hale was leading her out of the station and to his vehicle where she climbed in, her wrists free of cuffs.

"You still hungry?" He asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"I knew you wanted to take me out." She cocked her brows with a grin.

The deputy chuckled, putting his keys into the ignition and starting his vehicle as he began driving the few short blocks to the diner on Main Street.

"Damn… Who's dick d'you gotta suck around here to get yourself one of these fancy little things?" She slapped the side of the wagon with the hand that she had dangling out the window. "No pussy ass squad car for you, Mr. Hale." She looked to the deputy expectantly.

"I should ask you the same…" He referred to the beauty of a car that the young woman drove like a maniac. "Looks like I could take some pointers."

"It was my dad's car." She chuckled when he _actually _cracked a joke. "No dick sucking involved." She raised her hand to clarify with a playful smile.

Hale laughed freely as he pulled into the tiny parking lot of the diner, getting out and strolling up the pathway to the front door with his former prisoner in tow.

"Good morning, David!" The jolly waitress greeted, the tops of her pudgy cheeks almost touching her eyelashes as she smiled at the handsome deputy. "Well… Aint this a sight for sore eyes!" She widened her grin, taking a step back to gaze upon the gorgeous couple that stood before her.

"I told you before Doreen, all you gotta do for a bigger tip is toss a little extra powdered sugar on my waffles, the flattery ain't necessary." Sydney winked.

"You two know each other?" Hale looked between the woman he had known his entire life, and the newcomer who he was only just becoming acquainted with.

"Oh darlin, I have gotten the pleasure of getting to know this sweet, sugar pie over the past few weeks." Doreen squeezed Sydney's hands affectionately before leading them to a booth at the back of the restaurant by the window.

"I'll be back with coffee! Are you both havin your usuals?" The pair nodded their confirmation - one of the nice things of a small town.

"You're even more popular than I thought." Hale observed aloud.

"Soon I'll be more popular than you, deputy." She smirked at him across the table.

Jax was making his way to TM from his house which he'd started staying at recently, since Wendy was no longer there. He took the long way down Main Street after discovering over the last few days that he'd found an unexpected sense of peace in the morning commute. By chance, he glanced into the bay windows of the diner to see none other than Sydney and David Hale having breakfast. He snarled when he witnessed the snake of a girl chatting and laughing with the cop who had made it his life mission to destroy his club, racing to the clubhouse and forgetting all about his peaceful ride.

"Chicken and waffles with powdered sugar and double bacon…" Hale looked at Sydney's food with a raised eyebrow - the absolute last meal that he would've expected the petite blonde to order.

"What can I say? I can take a lot of meat." She winked before digging in.

Hale laughed into his black coffee, setting the mug down before he got started on his vegetarian omelette and turkey bacon.

"God, you even _eat_ like a cop." Sydney winced.

"What exactly does a cop eat like?" He raised a brow as he speared a piece of egg with his fork.

"A pussy." She retorted, cackling when he snorted and choked on his food in response to her joke.

The pair finished up their meals and Sydney excused herself to use the restroom while Hale headed to the front of the restaurant and paid for their food as punishment for losing the bet they'd made that she couldn't finish her entire plate.

"You takin that one back to the street corner?" Hale heard from behind him, recognizing the voice of one of his older colleagues, turning to see Benson and Smith standing behind him - stopping for their morning supply of coffee and donuts.

"Not exactl-" A sweet voice cut off Hale's response.

"I asked him for a ride to Lodi." Sydney seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "All you small town boys can't afford me." She winked.

Hale stared at her in surprise for a few seconds before chuckling. "I'll see you two later." He nodded before opening the door for Sydney, tossing a smirk over his shoulder at the men as he followed her out.

They drove to the clubhouse in silence, Hale feeling conflicted over the fact that he'd had such an enjoyable morning with the woman who he was supposed to despise - the woman who was helping spread crime throughout his town, the woman who worked with the men that corrupted his superiors. She wasn't supposed to be sweet and funny, charming and adored by everyone she met, she wasn't supposed to make him laugh and smile more than he had in months. She was supposed to be unreasonable and greedy, but she was the opposite.

"Thanks Davey…" He was brought out of his head by her delicate hand resting over his when he parked on the relatively empty compound.

"It's like I said before." He spoke with no emotion. "Just doing my job."

Sydney smirked, knowing that she had succeeded in twisting him up the way she'd intended to. She opened the door, closing it with a smile before she strolled over to the clubhouse where Jax sat on a picnic table.

The VP stood when Sydney approached, standing next to her and waving to the good deputy with a sarcastic smile as he drove off. Sydney chuckled, turning to head inside before she felt her body being violently slammed against the rough bricks of the building.

"I see what you're doing, you little whore." Jax seethed his evaluation while he held her against the wall with his forearm pressed harshly against her chest. "Fuck Tig to get yourself a patch, fuck Hale to get out of charges." The blonde man spit the angry accusation at her.

Sydney tried with everything she had to channel the strength and control that she had seen her President possess yesterday as her veins coursed with pure adrenaline in the type of moment that she would usually thrive in. But it was countered by the anger heaving in her chest under his restraint - boiling over when he mentioned her only fucking Tig to get a patch. She jabbed her fist into his stomach, her foot hooking his ankle and knocking off his balance as she spun him around and switched their positions, swiping the gun from the back of his pants in the process.

Jackson Nathaniel Teller, the Vice President of the mother chapter of the infamous Sons of Anarchy outlaw motorcycle club had found himself pinned to the wall by a girl half his size, with the barrel of his own gun pressed to his forehead.

"D'you wanna accuse me of shit? Or d'you wanna hear what I found out on my little field trip?" Jax said nothing, shaking his head as he looked away but she stopped him, using the barrel of the gun to bring his angry eyes back to hers. "Lay your hands on me again? I won't leave that face so pretty." She snarled, pushing off of him and walking into the clubhouse. "Call church." She called over her shoulder as she tossed back his gun.

"Why the hell, would you bring Hale here?" Tig yelled, his voice echoing in the chapel from his seat at the table.

"I didn't see your ass waiting to pick me up!" Sydney yelled back. "Bringing him here shows him that we aren't hiding anything."

"Enough!" Clay yelled - the recent events having completely stripped him of his patience. "Tell us what was yesterday really about."

"Order came from A.T.F. Some fed you guys pissed off. Josh Kohn?"

"Who the hell is that?" Clay scowled, looking to his crew for answers.

"No idea." Jax shook his head.

"Well whoever he is, he followed Little Red Riding Hood over here to the warehouse bones." She gestured to Jax. "That's why Hale's so sure that it's our facility. Kohn called for the raid after he tailed the Mayan shootout on Tuesday. He and Hale wanna start an official investigation with A.T.F. but they don't have enough evidence, so we need to make sure it stays that way."

"So you're sayin that you got your pretty little ass thrown into a dirty prison cell, just to get intel?" Bobby asked skeptically.

"Is that so hard to believe?" She stared at the old man stoically. "The club protects their own… And I didnt have any priors." She smirked, earning a couple of chuckles before she turned her attention to Clay. "Unser didn't know about it until it was happening, this wasn't payback. He got our message loud and clear. He got baldy to drop the charges against me as a show of good faith." She stated firmly, fiddling with her necklace. She felt for the old cop after the short time she'd spent with him, it was clear that he had a soft spot for the M.C. for some reason or another - a soft spot that he was allowing to kill him.

"I'll let Unser know that we're good." Clay assured with a nod.

"Did Vegas get up to Indian Hills okay?" Sydney asked Clay but looked directly at Jax.

"Yeah… They did." He nodded, watching the harsh staredown going on between the two blondes.

"Good." She turned back to her President. "We done here?"

"Uh, yeah." Clay wasn't used to seeing her so eager to leave. He knew something was going on, but she had only given him reason to trust her thus far - deciding that she had earned herself the benefit of the doubt at the very least. She'd proven that she knew what she was doing and whatever it was that she had going on behind the scenes with the VP - like everything else she did, it was for a reason.

"Hey!" Sydney heard Tig calling after her as she scurried to her car, but she didn't stop. "Hey, where you goin?" He squinted once he reached her open window, resting his arm on the warm roof of the black car.

"Got somethin I need to do." She answered coldly, shifting her car into reverse.

"You scared the shit out of me yesterday, you know…"

"Sorry." She replied with a weak smile.

Tig realized he wasn't going to get the response he wanted, lifting his arm off of the vehicle to let her leave when he noticed the angry red patch on her shoulder from where her body had hit the wall - his eyes shifting to the discoloration on her chest that had earlier been concealed by her long hair. He'd known something had been off this morning when her hand had taken up permanent residence on that damn necklace, and now his mind was going into overdrive as he realized that it may be much worse than he'd originally thought…

"Stop."

Sydney exhaled sharply, ripping up the parking brake and turning up to face him. "What?" She asked impatiently.

"What happened?" He asked just above a whisper, the worry trembling in his voice as he lightly brushed his fingers over her aching chest

"I said I have to go." She replied after staring at him for a few seconds. She wasn't in the correct mindset to deal with his growing need to protect her - something she had spent her entire life learning how to do herself.

Tig ground his teeth as her car rolled out of the lot before he punched the side of the nearest vehicle, which luckily for him was just the TM truck. "Fuck!" He yelled before hitting the truck again. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" His fist slammed into the metal with each curse that left his mouth, hissing as he shook out his hand and stalked into the bar for today's lethal dose of whiskey.

Sydney knew she needed to go home and shower off her uncomfortable night in jail and frustrating morning at the clubhouse, but she couldn't get herself to do anything before she carried out the one task that hadn't left her mind since the day before.

"Excuse me?" Sydney approached a middle aged redhead who was carrying a clipboard once she'd passed through the sliding glass doors of St. Thomas. "Do you know where I can find Dr. Knowles?"

Margaret Murphy looked the provocatively dressed blonde up and down before scoffing. "The women's clinic is down that way." She pointed towards a hallway to their left.

"It's a personal visit actually, but next time I need to kill a baby or fight off chlamydia, I'll remember that." Sydney smiled sarcastically before heading towards the emergency room to ask someone more helpful and less judgmental.

"Sydney?" She heard from behind her, turning to see exactly who she was looking for. "Hi, are you okay? I saw you in a cop car yesterday?" Tara's brown eyes scanned her disheveled appearance after a night in a prison cell.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sydney brushed off the look that accompanied the doctor's question. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Tara's brow creased but she nodded, leading them to an empty counselling room and with a couch where they sat down. "Is everything okay?" She asked once the door clicked shut, her anxiety over Kohn making it harder than usual for her to keep her cool.

"That phone call you got when I was here last… That one I asked you about? Does it have anything to do with why you were at the police station yesterday?" She tried to broach the sensitive subject as subtly as possible.

Tara's face fell. "Gemma told you." She scoffed with a shake of her head.

"What?"

"God! Is nothing private around here?" She stood, her hands dragging across her face in frustration as she began pacing around the room, going off on a tangent. "How fucking stupid of me to think that I would come back here and be safe. No! Everything is all about the fucking gossip."

Any other day, Sydney may have had a bit more sympathy over her outburst - but today was not that day. She was exhausted, sore, dirty, antsy, tired, and pissed off. She stood hastily, taking two giant steps before her black, cork wedges had her standing nose to nose with the hysterical brunette.

"I watched my mama get beaten half to death on the daily, so forgive me for being concerned." She sneered. "I came here out of the goodness of my heart - as a friend. I'm not Gemma." She stepped back, letting her angry eyes linger as she sat back down, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

"I'm-" Tara broke down when she saw the bruises on her chest, understanding now why she wanted to help her. She collapsed to the couch and buried her face in her hands as she sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm just- I'm a mess. I'm on edge, I don't know what I should do."

"Who is he?"

"A guy I dated in Chicago." She took a deep breath. "Things got weird, I tried to end it, he got violent. He's here, in Charming, for me."

"Did you tell Jax?"

"No because-" Tara tried to find the right words. "I'm the reason you got in trouble yesterday…" She whispered shakily.

"How?" Sydney didn't understand.

"Kohn!" She yelled, feeling like it was the only way she could make herself say his name. "He isn't here on business, he's here for me. He found out about my past with Jax and he's trying to scare me away from him."

"The fed…" Sydney pieced it together, finally understanding why Tara was so hesitant to tell Hale.

"He's dangerous. I've tried to tell the cops in Chicago and it only made things worse. I thought that if I told Jax it would be safer, but I was wrong. If I tell him, Kohn will only keep looking for things to crush the club."

"So _that's_ why you're back." Sydney surmised with a nod.

"It's not like that." Tara snapped.

"It's kinda romantic if you think about it…" She joked.

"You're… You're not gonna tell him?" She looked into the eyes of the blonde girl sitting across from her, surprised that she was willing to keep her dirty little secret - a secret that she could use as leverage.

"I told you, I'm not Gemma. But you need to let Jax deal with Kohn."

"What? What do you mean _deal _with him?" Sydney didn't answer, she just stared at the older woman knowingly. "You think I came back here because I knew that Jax would kill him for me?" She barked in offense before she came to her own realization that maybe Sydney was right. Subconsciously, it was exactly why she'd come back… "And you're telling me to let him do it? God, maybe you _are_ Gemma." She chuckled.

"He's a criminal Tara. It's what he's good at, so let him be." She nodded. "Men put us through enough shit, we deserve a little something in return." She gave a sympathetic smile.

"Okay, I'll tell him." Tara agreed before Sydney got up to leave. "Sydney, I'm sorry." She called after the younger woman, hesitating when she turned to face her. _That I didn't know Tig was doing same thing._ "About your mother."

"I'm not." Sydney smiled sadly, walking away and letting the heavy door close behind her.

Sydney was walking down the stairs in her house after a long awaited shower, squeezing excess water out of her hair when her doorbell rang. She scowled, not expecting visitors or having heard a bike pull onto her street. She tiptoed to the peephole, peering outside and groaning when she saw Tig standing there.

"We need to talk." He slurred when she opened the door, stumbling into the house and almost tripping over the threshold.

"You're drunk?" She raised a brow, seeing that it was still before noon on a Thursday. "And you drove?" Her voice rose as her eyes landed on his mode of transportation: the dented TM tow truck parked horribly in front of her driveway.

"M'fine." He shrugged, shaking out his sore hand.

"No. You're not." She barked when she realized the dents were from his fist and not from something he'd smashed into along the way, almost wishing that it had been the latter. "Did we not just fucking talk about needing to stay off of A.T.F.'s radar?" She smacked him in the shoulder. "Go take a shower and sleep this off."

"I said I needed to talk to yo-"

"I don't give a shit what you said, I'm not talking to you while you're like this. We can talk when you wake up, or you can leave. Choice is yours."

Tig hung his head, moping as he turned toward the stairs and hobbled up them, taking much longer than needed. He hadn't gotten drunk because he wanted to avoid having the conversation or not be present when they had it, he'd gotten drunk because it was the only way he could muster up enough courage to do so. He wanted her to know the truth - why he was acting the way he was, but that meant that he had to face the awful memory that he'd spent decades trying to forget, something he was not ready to do sober.

"I'm not changing my mind, go!" She pointed up the stairs.

He chuckled when she called out his tactic, continuing up the stairs at a normal pace before he practically rolled into the cold shower - thanks to her use of every drop of hot water. He sat on the tiled floor while water washed over his head, drenching his curls while they hung in his face as he stared blankly at the drain. He eventually managed to heave himself up, barely towelling off before landing face first on her bed, passing out instantly.

The previously intoxicated man woke up a few hours later, lifting his head and gaining his bearings, finding that she had covered him with a blanket at some point during his sober-up slumber. His mission quickly returned to his mind as he stumbled to the bathroom to find his discarded clothing, pulling on his jeans and boxers - not bothering with his socks or shirt before he headed towards the stairs.

Sydney looked up from her position on the couch, turning off the TV when Tig entered the room shirtless and sat on the loveseat across from her in silence, looking down to the hardwood floor as he tried to make himself say what he needed to say.

"Did you have a good nap?" She raised an eyebrow playfully, dropping it when he shook his head and remained staring at the ground. "There's leftovers in the fridge." She referred to the lunch she'd made while he was sleeping off his morning margaritas.

"I'm not hungry." He shook his head again.

"You need to eat somethi-"

"Syd…" He looked up at her with a pained expression, knowing that he couldn't do it. "Come here." He practically begged her, holding out his hand.

Sydney uncrossed her legs and walked over to him cautiously, gently brushing her fingers against his, sending a shock rippling through his body. He pulled her into his lap where he wrapped his arms around her, desperate for as much of the intoxicating feeling as he could get.

"I'm sorry…" He whimpered into her hair - the emotions, exhaustion, and effects of the alcohol all taking over and breaking him down.

Sydney whimpered when he pulled her against the warmth of his bare chest, a simple action that had so much power over her. She squeezed her eyes shut, hugging him back as she ran her fingers through his curls soothingly.

"We gotta stop this." He shook his head, pulling back to look at her with his tear-filled, blue eyes.

"What?"

"Bein stupid…" He clarified, brushing a wavy piece of white-blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'll stop when you stop." She smiled softly, brushing her nose against his. He chuckled, holding her face in his hands as he pressed his lips to hers, pulling away and resting his forehead against hers.

"You were right, there are things that we can't tell each other right now." He decided that agreeing with her was what was best for him right now - it's not like she was wrong, he just wished that she was, that he wasn't too much of a pussy to just tell her why he was scared. But if he didn't force her to share all of her secrets, she wouldn't force him, which was what he needed. "But I want to get to a place where we can." He assured her that he _did_ want full transparency with her eventually, but he knew it couldn't happen overnight.

"Okay." Sydney nodded, satisfied with that agreement.

"I love you." He looked up into her gorgeous emerald green eyes, nodding his sincerity.

"I love you too." She nodded back, stroking his hands that were cupping her face before she leaned back in, kissing him deeply.

"So, you have fun in Unser's cage?" He grinned when their lips parted.

"Oh, Sergeant." She grinned back. "Have I got a story for you…"


	28. Fundraiser

**Long chapter for a long weekend 💁 ️ (Here in Canada at least). I hope you're all safe, healthy, and enjoying the story ❤️**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 28: FUNDRAISER**

"Tell everyone to leave room for the busses." Gemma ordered Luann from across the Sam Crow booth where they were setting up for her 'Taste of Charming' fundraiser tomorrow.

"Who are we bussing?"

"Oakdale assisted living. Seniors are all compulsive gamblers, it triples our raffle dollars." The matriarch smirked.

"God bless social security." Sydney chuckled with the older women as she stacked plastic cups on the foldout tables.

"Hey, I uh… Never got to thank you for the other day." Gemma lowered her voice, nodding to Sydney from where she stood beside her.

"The club protects their own." She nodded

"You know, sayin that won't get you a patch any sooner." Gemma smirked.

"Eh, I figure it's worth a shot." Sydney chuckled.

"Gemma."

"Oh hey, April." Sydney turned her head towards the black haired woman who she'd seen helping set up around the school yard. "I appreciate you comin to help."

"Yeah…" She smiled. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Gemma trailed off, knowing that this couldn't be good.

"Charlie's band is playing during the fireworks tomorrow night, he really wants his dad to come…"

"Shit… April I- I don't think Clay is gonna go for-"

"I would never ask anything like this. Me and you - we understand what went down. But Charlie? He doesn't know. It break his heart that his dad can't come to anything around here, no baseball games, no school stuff, no-"

"Alright, alright, alright." Gemma cut off the pleas of the desperate woman who she truly felt for - a rare occurrence. "I'll bring it up to Clay, but I can't promise anything."

"Thank you." April replied sincerely before getting back to work.

"Who was she?" Sydney asked.

"April Hobart."

"Hobart… Hobart like Kyle Hobart?"

"Yeah that's right…" Gemma furrowed her brows. "You know about Kyle?"

"Yeah, me and Tig saw him at Fun Town."

"What?" Gemma exclaimed when she heard that the excommunicated man had been seen in Charming. Now she would _definitely _ask Clay to put it up for a vote, Kyle needed to be sent a message.

"I'm sure that's all you'd need to tell Clay if you don't want him to come…" Sydney raised a brow.

"I don't give a shit if he comes, _they _do. He ruined Opie's life."

"Where does she stand on it?" Sydney nodded towards April across the field who was hanging a banner.

"She divorced him, stayed in Charming. She stands with the club."

"Damn… Now _that_ is an old lady." Sydney looked to her mentor knowingly, the two sharing a chuckle.

"Chuck's been cookin the books for the asian mob - skimmed $400k off of Henry Lin's crew. Otto was keepin him safe up at Stockton, but he gets out tomorrow. So: we protect him, we pick up the cash, we get him outta Cali." Clay relayed the plan that he and Jax had devised with their incarcerated brother on their day's visit to Stockton to everyone at the table who nodded their understanding, grateful for the timing of this breakthrough when they were deeply in need.

"We're gonna split the cash with Chucky Boy. Twenty-five percent goes to us, Otto wants his twenty-five to go to Luann." Jax added.

"Aint gonna be a cakewalk." Bobby shook his head. "Lin's a dangerous cat… Sneaky little bastard."

"That's why we're gonna work three-man shifts. We keep this place locked down, Chuck never leaves the clubhouse, and the garage is open for pickups only."

"Skim is hidden in one of the restaurants Lin uses as a front. Gonna keep Chucky here until Sunday, go pick up the money when the place is closed. Happy's gonna be back later with the glocks, so we'll bring em to Laroy tomorrow after we scoop up Chuck."

"Good." Tig tapped the table in agreement, the rest of the men nodding.

"Got anything to add, _Princess?_" Sydney pursed her lips and shook her head in response to Jax's question that she knew was for the sole purpose of asserting his dominance. Regardless of their ongoing power struggle, she thought it was a good plan - and it was nice to see him and Clay working together on something.

"Good." He pushed his chair back with a smug smile.

"Uh… Wait a minute, wait a minute." Clay put his hand up to halt their departure. "There's uh… There's one more thing." He rubbed his forehead regrettably. "April Hobart wants to know if her old man can come to the fundraiser to see his kid's band play." He dropped the bomb in a voice which told Sydney that the idea to put it up for a vote was _all_ Gemma's.

"You gotta be kiddin…" Jax asked Clay as everyone turned to Opie, looking for his reaction.

"I know…" He sighed.

"That's done brother, that's done." Tig shook his head.

"No I know, but… You know she took a big hit standin behind. She supported the club." Clay tried to reason as everyone looked to each other skeptically. "It's for her, not Kyle. I figured I'd throw it up for a vote." He sighed again.

"What? Don't got nothin to say? No opinion on how _we_ should handle _our_ problem?" Jax egged Sydney on from across the table, pushing harder and harder for a reaction as his carefully chosen words reminded her of her position: an outsider.

"It's not my beef." She responded simply.

"Where the hell's that attitude been hidin?"

"What's your problem, man?" Tig squinted, defending his woman as Jax attacked her seemingly for no reason.

"Yeah Jackson, what's your problem?" Sydney mimicked sweetly.

"Let him come." Opie announced in an attempt to diffuse the situation, a method that was effective as Jax's face fell, looking to his best friend for an explanation.

"Are you serious?" The VP blinked in disbelief.

"This can't be about gettin even… Not at the school." Clay scolded.

"It's not about that. The guy's got nothin, right? No club, no family. It'd do me good to see that, appreciate what I got." He tipped his beer back.

"Anybody oppose?" Clay nodded, pleased with the maturity of one of his younger members, hoping that maybe Jax would take notes from his lifelong pal.

"Yeah, me!" Tig hollered.

"I don't agree with it." Piney threw his cigarette butt into the ashtray, glaring at his son in disappointment.

"This is wrong." The Sergeant continued.

Clay looked around the table, no one saying else objecting to the matter. "Majority rules. The vote passes, let him come." He smacked the gavel in conclusion.

"You okay with that Sydney? You gonna let _us_ make a decision for _our_ club?"

"Alright, that's enough." Sydney slammed her hands down on the table, pushing her chair back as she stood, pulling her glock from her waistband and walking around the table to the VP.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Tig began protesting when he saw what she was doing, Clay rising from his seat to stop her before he heard the cocking of her gun and found himself on the other end of it, being forced back into his seat as the feisty woman managed to restrain him without even looking over her shoulder.

"I'm gonna give you one free punch, let's go." She told Jax who rose from his seat, staring down at her _hard_ as he weighed his options. He couldn't believe this girl. Exposing him to his club, holding the President at gunpoint and then demanding that he hit her. Who the fuck did she think she was?

"I'll keep my promise." She sneered through gritted teeth as the cocky man stayed silent. "You had so much to fucking say before, why so quiet now? Or was the first one enough for you?" She'd adorned his yellow and purple marks like a badge of honor, taunting him with the evidence ever since he'd left it - a message that she wasn't afraid to out him if he pushed her to it.

"What the hell is she talking about?" Clay demanded.

"Nothing." Jax responded quickly. Her comment suggesting to everyone that he'd hurt her was one thing - but risking her outing him for the Mayans was another, and he had vastly underestimated how far she was willing to go.

Sydney saw the surrender in his eyes - the desperation. She lowered the gun, taking a step back from the VP. "Give us a minute."

Clay looked to Jax who nodded and took a step back. The President stood after a moment of hesitation, signalling for everyone to clear and leave them to work their shit out.

Tig was the last to stand, weary about leaving her alone with Jax but the glare that he got from Clay told him that it wasn't up for discussion. He stood, walking stiffly out of the chapel with a storm brewing in his mind. He had _so_ many questions, questions that he would've known the answers to if he would've just fucking told her the truth yesterday. He knew that this had something to do with Jax trying to get her to lie for him, but he couldn't stop thinking about those bruises. She'd laughed it off and told him yesterday that they were "battle wounds" from her rough arrest, but something about what she'd said to Jax in front of everyone just didn't sit right.

"I gotta give it to you Jackson, you're _real_ bold challenging me when _I'm _the one who knows _your_ secrets." Sydney scoffed once they were alone.

"Could say the same to you." He scoffed back, reminding her that she had taken both the Vice President, and President at gunpoint in the span of an hour. "Maybe I'll let Tig in on your little date yesterday, I'm sure he'd love to hear about it." The blonde man smirked.

Sydney snorted when he presented her with his leverage - the leverage that she and Tig had laughed about the day before. She kept her mouth shut, if him thinking that he had dirt on her would stop him from trying to dig up more - she would let him.

"Glad to see you took that note about laying your hands on me." She winked before pushing herself up from the table.

Tig had reluctantly ridden along for the pickup of their refugee at Stockton State Penitentiary, him and Bobby guarding Half-Sack, Clay, and Jax who rode in the van, from the potential threat of Henry Lin. After making the drop of the glocks to Laroy, they made their way back to the clubhouse to store their prizes from the day before Bobby, Jax, and Tig took off to help Gemma with the fundraiser.

When they arrived, they saw Kyle and his girlfriend getting out of their truck. The Sons glared at their former brother in disapproval before Jax cut the tension, sending his companions to check in with Gemma.

"Ah shit." Gemma looked up when Luann nudged her once she saw the bikers finally trickling in. "You are late!" She scolded as she marched toward them.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get this into a helmet?" Bobby defended as he fluffed his Elvis wig.

Sydney chuckled, leaning back against one of the coolers while she and Tig watched the overweight man scurry backwards as the angry woman closed in on him.

"Havin fun?" Tig turned to face her with a smirk, looking around the booth where Gemma had commissioned her to serve chili.

"I am now." She smirked, tiptoeing to kiss him.

Hale was walking across the parking lot to join in on the community event when he saw Sydney behind the Sam Crow booth, entangled with none other than Tig Trager… He grit his teeth, ignoring the chill that ran through his veins - it was what he should've expected all along.

"Is everything okay?" Tig whispered into her hair as she hung off of his shoulders.

"It will be." She nodded.

"Syd… You can't just-"

"I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do." She pulled herself from his previously comforting grasp.

Jax greeted Opie who happened to arrive just after Kyle, looking less than pleased to see that his former accomplice seemed to be doing okay with his expensive truck and hot, young girlfriend. He clapped his friend on the shoulder before he walked off to join his family, making sure that he was out of view before heading over to Kyle to give him the rundown on how today was to play out.

The VP was almost glad when the weasel of a man presented him an opportunity to let out some of the anger he'd been holding in, slamming him against the wall - the same way he'd done to Sydney the day before - when he tried to buy his way back into the club with a stolen parts gig, bullshitting about how he just wanted to share in the pot as his way to make up for the damage he'd caused.

Gemma looked up from the money she'd been counting to see her son holding Kyle against the wall, staring him down until he let up. Sydney shook her head slowly with a smirk, taunting the VP from afar. Tig watched the silent exchange between the two young blondes, kissing her on the cheek protectively while staring at Jax before making his way over to the Elvis booth, needing some good entertainment to lift his spirits.

"Hey." Jax greeted his mother as he waltzed into the booth, helping himself to a tortilla chip.

"How are the guys handling Kyle?" She questioned after witnessing the scuffle not long ago.

"Nothin to handle. Kyle's dead." He took a bite as he watched the man participating in the egg toss with his daughter.

"Looks alive and kicking to me." Sydney responded cheerfully, swiping the chip from Jax's hand and popping it in her mouth.

"Your boyfriend comin?" He asked menacingly - cryptically reiterating his threat.

Sydney scanned the crowd for the cop, smirking when her green eyes landed on him. "He sure is." She grabbed a bowl of chili and made her way over to him.

"He's not dead to Opie." Gemma lowered her voice as she observed the bearded man watching his enemy in envy from his concealed position behind the booths. Jax turned his attention to where his mother was looking, touching her shoulder by way of farewell before heading over to his conflicted brother.

"Hi Davey." Sydney greeted the blue eyed man with a grin. "Figured I'd return the favor." She winked, holding out the bowl of hearty soup.

"Thanks." He accepted the meal, avoiding eye contact. "So, you're with Trager." He stated his observation while staring off into the distance.

"You sound disappointed. I didn't make you fall in love with me _that _fast, did I?" She teased with a smirk.

"What happened?" Hale was grateful to find a distraction from her question, nodding to the bruising across her chest that he knew hadn't been there before. "Did he do this to you?" His eyes finally met hers, expressing his concern over her safety.

"Are you checking out my rack, deputy?" She feigned offence with her hand over her heart before dropping the facade with a playful smile. "Unfortunately Mr. Hale, part of throwing punches is that you gotta take a few in return."

"You are full of surprises."

"I pride myself on it. I'll see you around." She squeezed his bicep and winked before returning to her post.

Jax and Opie smoked while discussing Opie's inability to make things work with his family, hoping that seeing Kyle be a miserable piece of shit would've helped him - but the opposite had occurred.

"Seems like I'm not the only one struggling." Opie looked to his friend knowingly before he nodded towards the little blonde girl. "What's going on with that?" The quiet man had witnessed the tension between the reaper royals for weeks, and based on what he saw in church today, it was only going to keep getting worse.

"Ah, she's just a mouthy bitch." Jax brushed the question off with a smug smile and shrug of his shoulder.

"And you're not?" Opie retorted with side-eye and a smirk.

"Hey, come on man." He groaned, playfully shoving his friend. Their attention returned to Kyle who had just been pelted by an egg, struggling to get his sweater off while holding his daughter. Their faces fell when they saw it. The SOA ink that he had been ordered to blackout after he was exiled.

"He still has that tat…"

"Yeah." Jax whipped his half-smoked cigarette into the dirt, standing to walk over and handle the situation before he was stopped by Opies large hand on his chest.

"This is me."

Sydney watched as Jax and Opie stood, angrily glaring at Kyle before Opie followed him into the school's gymnasium and Jax walked over to Donna - snickering as the VP found himself on the receiving end of a few water guns along the way. She watched as Donna grew angrier and angrier listening to whatever Jax's words were - although that didn't say much since Donna seemed to get angry anytime anyone spoke to her, and Jax seemed to piss off anyone he spoke to. Jax bid her goodbye with a squeeze to her shoulder before heading to the gymnasium.

"You seen Jax?" Bobby asked Gemma as he and Tig approached the booth.

"He's with Ope… Why?" Gemma questioned wearily, knowing that the reason was about to piss her off.

"Boss wants us."

"You got two more hours in that booth." She sighed.

"Sorry mother." Tig dismissed, nodding for Sydney to follow.

"Jesus christ. Clay…" Gemma whined once they were gone.

"Sucks bein boss, don't it?" Unser chuckled, smiling to his old friend.

"All that fried shit's gonna kill ya." She looked down at the half-eaten corndog he was holding.

"Yeah, cause the cancer's keepin me fit and spunky." He joked before looking around to make sure there was no one in earshot. "You okay? From that raid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She looked up to see Tara staring at the PD booth, looking startled before turning and walking away quickly. "Who's that guy behind the grill?" She pointed to the silver haired man who had spooked Tara as he laughed with a customer, wondering if he was the reason that she'd found a gun in her purse the other day when she'd give her a ride home.

Unser looked over his shoulder. "Oh that's our new best friend, Agent Kohn - A.T.F.

"The fed looking into the club is grilling sausages?" She asked incredulously.

"Must be part of his special federal trainin." He joked. "Good chili." He nodded, holding up his bowl - although he'd already known that Gemma was the best cook in town.

"They're in the gym with Kyle…" Sydney nodded to the school building where the three emerged. It was clear by their battered and bloody faces that Opie and Kyle had been settling their differences and Jax had gone to intervene - but why were they now walking side by side like buddies?

"Are we okay here?" Bobby asked as they approached.

"Yeah." Jax nodded confidently, his eyes flicking to see Kyle - who was already on thin ice - checking Sydney out. Tig ripped off his sunglasses and glared with that threatening blue gaze that the light haired man was all too familiar with. "What's up?" He asked before Tig could blow their plan with his jealousy.

"We gotta go. Chow mein's ready."

"Now?" Jax scowled, knowing that the plan to hit the restaurant was scheduled for tomorrow when it was closed. The two men nodded their confirmation, not giving any details in front of Kyle about Clay's decision to get it over with so that they could get rid of Chucky and their chinese admirers. "Alright, I'll catch you guys back at the clubhouse." He nodded to the pair of enemies who nodded and walked off.

"You gonna leave them alone?"

"I'll tell you on the way…" Jax watched over his shoulder until Opie had led Kyle far enough away, his attention being stolen by the familiar face staring at him from the Charming PD booth.

"Jax, who is that guy?" Tig asked when he noticed the staredown that was taking place. Before Jax could answer, his lack of attention bought him crashing directly into yet another problem that he didn't want to deal with right now.

"You tell Clay that I'm pissed off!" Gemma scolded. "It's bad enough that his sorry ass isn't here, now he's taking all my manpower."

"Who's that guy with the cops?" He ignored his mother's complaints

"That's your A.T.F. guy."

"That guy was at the hospital last night watching me with Abel…" Sydney's heart sank when she heard the words come out of his mouth. Obviously Tara hadn't told him about Kohn's true intentions and hearing that the man was getting bolder and bolder - hiding in plain sight, only meant that time was running out before someone would get hurt.

"He's dangerous bro." Tig shook his head.

"Keep an eye on him, if he follows us out of here or leaves at any point, you give me a call." Jax instructed.

"Prepay?"

"Yeah."

The VP led everyone over to where their bikes were parked before he explained the plan to his confused entourage. "Kyle never blacked out his ink. Earlier he was trying to pitch me some stolen parts gig. Ope used the beatdown as a cover to make Kyle think that we're good. We needed something to get him to the clubhouse. He's good to come to Clay with his offer, but I don't know how we're gonna get him to the garage where we can chain him up. We need-"

"A distraction." Sydney cut him off with a smug smirk on her face.

Jax bit his lip and shook his head before looking to the pavement, unable to keep himself from laughing at his own stupidity for how he'd set the stage for her.

"Yeah…"

The club was sat in the van with Chucky who had his hands duct taped to the armrests to keep them out of his pants, as Tig drove them to Lin's restaurant where the money was hidden. Sydney ignored the mindless chatter, trying to figure out the best way to handle the Kohn situation. She knew that she needed to tell Jax, warn him about the threat that Kohn _really_ posed, but she also knew that he wasn't exactly her biggest fan at the moment and she worried that if she told him and he didn't take her seriously, the consequences of his carelessness could - yet again - land on the entire club.

Sydney wasn't pulled from her thoughts until she realized that everyone was exiting the van, ready to move in as they shed their kuttes and readied their weapons - quickly climbing out after them.

"You with us?" She heard the soft whisper in her ear, glancing up to see Clay looking down on her with concern.

"Yeah." She shook her head and blinked a few times, refocusing herself on the task at hand.

"Why don't you wait out here with Tig, our friends in the Beamer shouldn't be too far behind."

"Okay." She nodded.

"We'll be ready." Tig confirmed to his President, placing his hand on Sydney's shoulder as they watched their President, Vice President, and liability, barrel into the chinese restaurant. "Baby… You gotta tell me what's goin on." He kept his voice low so that the rest of the crew in the van wouldn't hear. "I can't help you if you don't-"

"I don't need your help." She snapped, her eyes lingering on him before the anger behind them turned to guilt. "I got a bad feeling about that fed…" It wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either.

"It got anything to do with this?" He brushed the back of his hand over her chest.

"No." She recoiled from his touch. "I told you yesterday. I was slammed against a fucking bar and spent a night in a prison cell. Sorry I didn't come out clean and perfect like you wanted." She stormed away, around to the opposite side of the van. She squeezed her eyes shut, hating herself for gaslighting him but knowing that telling him where the bruise really came from would only make things worse. Right now, she needed Jax to trust her - not think that her goal was to turn his club against him.

"Our friends in the Beamer are here." Bobby announced from the side door, providing a much needed distraction as Clay, Jax, and Chucky emerged with the bag of cash.

"Another interested party's been takin laps in the silver Caddy." Tig nodded to the grey sedan driving past.

Sydney was impressed with his observation. She hadn't noticed shit going on around them while they had been talking and she didn't think he had either. She looked at him from the other end of the van, cursing herself for pissing him off when he was in full Sergeant mode and looking so good in his sunglasses and flannel - longing for the days when he was more interested in her pussy than her safety.

"Shit is on…" Jax pulled the gun from the back of his pants.

"Alright, let's go. Jax drives." Clay said calmly, walking toward the van slowly.

"Oh we're fucked." Sydney scoffed as she climbed into the van, hearing that Jax was appointed as driver.

Sydney sighed when Jax revealed that his master plan was to attempt to drive straight out of the lot, quickly being cut off by the blue BMW. He put the van into reverse, hammering his foot on the gas before trying the other exit which was blocked by the silver Cadillac.

"Shit! Hold on."

"What'd I tell ya?" Sydney shook her head, smiling when Clay looked back at her with a smirk.

"Sunday would've been so much better!" Chucky whined while Tig held him in place with a wicked grin on his face. He thrived in chaos.

Jax rammed the Beamer, attempting to push it out of the way with the size of the van, but he couldn't get enough speed in the short distance of the parking lot. "Well that didn't work…"

"No shit it didn't" Sydney scoffed as he reversed again, the men from the smash beamer beginning to shoot at the black van that was trapped with no way out.

Tig grabbed Sydney and shoved her to the floor of the van, shielding her body from the bullets while everyone else attempted to take cover - Clay diving into the back and Jax ducking below the steering wheel.

"Shit…" Jax cursed as Lin's men closed in. "What's the plan here Clay?"

The President looked down into the bag of money that he'd landed on, happening to catch sight of… "Plates?" He held up the currency maker. "These are plates for a twenty..." He grabbed a stack, rubbing the bills between his fingers to find that it was fake.

"This shit's counterfeit?" Jax exclaimed to Chucky with a glare.

"All we want is the bag!" They heard from outside the van.

"It's not shit, it's really good… These bills will pass anywhere." The squirrely man tried to reason with the pissed off bikers.

"God dammit!" Clay socked him before getting out, holding the bag to show his surrender. "I wanna talk to Lin!"

Henry Lin emerged from the Cadillac where Clay cut a deal with him, offering him the money, plates, _and_ Chucky for sixty thousand. Sydney grinned when she saw the President capitalizing on the situation - milking Lin for as much as possible for their Irish debt.

"Hey Chuck!" Clay called.

"Was there ever any real skim money?" Jax interrogated while Tig held him down.

"No." He trembled. "I'm sorry!" He exclaimed when Bobby shoved him. "I needed protection and I figured you guys could still spend the money." Tig and Bobby hauled him out of the van, dragging him over to where Clay stood with Lin - making the hand off despite his desperate pleas for mercy.

Jax watched from the driver's seat in turmoil, watching Chucky being shoved into the Cadillac as he begged them to spare his life - oblivious to the fact that Sydney was sitting behind him with the exact same expression.

They returned to the clubhouse safely where Piney, Opie, and Kyle were waiting. Clay rounded the bar, twisting the cap off of a Budweiser while Jax filled Piney in on the chinese situation.

"Clay, good to see you man." Kyle extended his hand with a grateful smile, but the older man ignored the gesture, tossing his bottle cap over his shoulder.

"So, I hear you got an offer that I can't refuse." He rounded the bar, taking a seat at the table where the former sat.

"Somethin like that." He smiled with a nod.

"Well, I better get back to the fireworks or your mom's gonna be stuffin gunpowder up my ass." Opie announced once the plan was in motion, looking over his shoulder at Jax as he began walking towards the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm sure we're all on Gemma's shit list by now." Jax followed him, waving to Kyle. "Ope." He caught up to the tall man once they were out of view. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Look, about what I was sayin earlier… It doesn't mean I don't want this. I'd rather be dead than be that guy"

Sydney scowled as she listened to their conversation from her position around the corner, wondering what exactly it was that Opie had said earlier - and if it was a shared opinion, something that she wouldn't have been surprised about after witnessing both of their questionable actions over the last few weeks.

"I know." Jax nodded sincerely, nudging his friend down the hallway. The VP looked to his right, giving Sydney her signal before following his friend.

Sydney listened as Kyle pitched his bullshit scam, waiting until they all started drinking in celebration after Clay accepted. She peered around the corner as the blonde man took a shot, waltzing out once Clay gave her the nod.

"Hey, Kyle…" The President got his attention, nodding towards the absolute dime of a woman who he'd seen with them at the event earlier - now standing across the room, summoning him over with a smile.

"Oh man…" Kyle groaned as he freely raked over her perfect body, blonde with big tits - just how he liked them. "You serious?"

"Hey." Clay smiled with a shrug. "If you're really gonna make me as much money as you say you are, then this is the least I can do."

"She's a good one man." Tig winked, knowing that he and the douchebag with a buzzcut had always shared in their taste of women.

Kyle grinned as his eyes dilated, getting up and walking towards his prize who took his hand and led him outside. "Damn baby…" He watched her round ass as her hips swung in front of him, licking his lips. "They didn't have whores that looked like you when I was around…"

"Is that any way to talk to a lady?" She joked, looking over her shoulder as she led him to the TM office.

"I just call them like I see them, sweetheart." He shrugged smugly from the doorway before following her inside.

"That usually work with the girls?" She raised a brow as she walked backwards through the door that led to the garage before turning her back on him again.

"Eh." He shrugged again. "I get by."

"You wanna get by with me?" She turned to face him, narrowing her eyes seductively as she leant against the blue beam of the car lift.

"Hell yeah I do…" His voice dropped as he approached her.

"Mmm, I bet you do…" She slid her hand up his chest, slowly pushing against it and turning him as she reached into the back pocket of her denim shorts, positioning him so that his back was pressed against the lift now. "A lot of boys wanna get by with me..." She leant towards his neck, her breath tickling the sensitive skin.

"I can see why." He shivered before grabbing her ass and pulling her against him.

"But the thing about me? That makes them all want me?" She ghosted her lips over his neck as she spoke, sliding the back of her hand down his arm. "Is that I don't fuck just anyone. I'm _selective." _Kyle smirked as she stroked his ego with the same enthusiasm that he was about to have her stroking his cock with. "I could never fuck somebody who turned on a brother." She breathed into his ear.

"What the hell is this?" His face fell once he processed the words that had left her mouth. "Who are you?" He demanded angrily.

"The decoy." She smirked as the clicking of the handcuffs filled the empty garage, grinning down at his wrist that she'd secured to metal structure.

* * *

**We LOVE parallels…👀 (this is still one of my FAVE episodes in the show)**


	29. A Taste of Charming

** aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 29: A TASTE OF CHARMING**

Everyone filtered in through the office door to where Sydney had successfully secured their rogue exile, ready to finally strip the asshole of his patch because he'd been too much of a pussy to do it himself.

"What is this?" Kyle asked as he looked around the garage, seeing Opie and Jax who he'd thought had left long ago.

"Take your shirt off." Sydney smirked.

"W-what?" Kyle stammered, struggling to comprehend how the stranger in front of him had known all of his secrets before it finally made sense... "Come on Jax." He looked to the VP with a nervous laugh, hoping he was just overreacting and that this was all some kind of joke.

"Take it off!" Jax yelled, letting his anger take over.

The cornered man looked around, realizing that he had no way out other than to try one thing… He lunged toward the girl who had tricked him into this position in the first place but he was quickly pulled back by Tig who ripped his shirt off and turned him to display the offending ink to the club.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Clay. I know I was supposed to black it out and I tried man… Look I went a bunch of times and I couldn't- I couldn't do it." He tried to plead his case as he hyperventilated in fear for what his old crew was going to do to him for disrespecting them yet again. "It's the only thing I have left Jax. Please, I'm sorry."

"Good job, baby." Tig handed Sydney the shredded shirt as a trophy, kissing her cheek.

Sydney let him kiss her, knowing that he was only doing it to taunt his competition and re-establish his dominance, but he was so fucking hot when he was jealous and angry that she didn't care - she would've let him do anything.

"Oh come on!" Kyle groaned when he learned that the seductive little tart was _Tig's_ girl.

"Told you she was a good one." The dark haired man winked to his former competition.

"Fire, or knife?" Opie asked coldly.

Kyle looked around to the faces of his old friends, hoping that just _one_ of them would have mercy for old times sake, but he came up empty handed.

"Answer him." Jax ordered.

"Jax…"

"Answer him!"

Sydney smirked as she watched the fear cripple the traitor, breaking down the cocky facade that he wore - her smile doubling in size for her enjoyment over Jax's anger, a small show that maybe he _was_ capable of the what the outlaw life required.

"Fire." Kyle finally decided after one more round of silent pleading.

Opie nodded to Tig, signalling that this task was one for the Sergeant when he couldn't quite stomach it, Jax passing Kyle a sympathy bottle of whiskey and allowing him to take a few gulps before dousing his back with the flammable liquid - slamming back a few shots himself. Sydney scoffed, shaking her head. _One step forward, two steps back. _

Bobby grabbed Kyle's other wrist, chaining it to the pole opposite to the one he was already secured to while Tig lit the blowtorch and readied himself for the glorious revenge he was about to carry out. Clay sat back, watching the scene unfold as he sipped his beer and looked to Opie who nodded - giving Tig the go ahead.

Tig got to work searing off the identifying ink - Kyle's cries instantly calming his scattered brain, providing a perfect distraction whilst Sydney inhaled the smell of burning flesh with a sadistic smile on her face, Clay lit a cigar, and the other members stood around, shifting uncomfortably - especially Half-Sack.

Sydney grabbed the prospect's hand, squeezing it and nodding to him reassuringly, meanwhile Jax watched the ink melt away with an expression harder than she'd ever seen him possess - but she couldn't tell if it was one of hate, or one of discomfort.

Kyle's cries eventually stopped when he passed out from the pain and the garage fell silent until the deed was done, his burnt and unconscious body hitting the floor.

"Creme brulee, anyone?" Tig asked with a smirk.

"Now that's what I call 'A Taste of Charming'." Sydney responded with a smirk of her own before she crouched down to retrieve her handcuffs, her eyes sliding over Tig lewdly as she stood back up.

"Your personal collection?" Clay questioned with a raised brow, nodding to the metal confines that she was twirling around her finger.

"Party favors." The wild blonde winked.

"Sack good to take him?" Tig asked both Clay and the prospect as he nodded to Kyle, not taking his eyes off of Sydney as he made his intentions clear.

"Yeah." Clay confirmed, deciding that for the time being - a Sergeant who was distracted by pussy that cared for the club was better than a Sergeant who was distracted by doubt caused by that same pussy when they weren't on the same page. He figured that maybe letting them fuck their problems away would cross something off of his evergrowing list of things to worry about.

Tig nodded, grabbing Sydney's hand and practically dragging her across the concrete floor of the garage until they were outside where he stopped his long strides, turning and gripping her throat as his lips descended on hers and his tongue claimed her mouth.

"You're mine tonight." He stated when he pulled away.

Sydney's chest heaved with excitement until she looked into those beautiful blue eyes and saw a hollowness - the one thing that she'd never seen when he looked at her. Her heart sank to her stomach and her face fell, physically _seeing_ just how she was losing him and knowing that she would _keep _losing him as the secrets piled on.

"The hell you waitin for? Go." He nudged her.

"Um." She stalled, shaking her head while she came up with an excuse. "I just remembered I have to go get my car from the school." She didn't have the strength to play it off, she'd been playing things off all day.

"You can't get it tomorrow?" The angry, whirling storm cloud reappeared in Tig's head the second that she closed herself off, dimming the reflection of the sun that she had always been for him.

"No. Gemma said the lot needs to be cleared out tonight, I'll get towed with all my tickets." She gave a small smile, hoping that some humour would add enough credibility to her story.

"Okay." Tig nodded at yet another one of her lies. He wasn't going to force her to stay or be truthful with him, he was just going to prepare himself for what he knew was coming: for her to leave him.

"You need a ride?" He asked even though he already knew what the answer would be.

"Nah, I'll catch one with Ope."

"Alright, you comin back?"

"Gemma will probably get me to help clean up so…" She didn't even try to deliver the lie sincerely, it hurt her too much to have to come up with it in the first place.

"Yeah, okay." Tig clenched his jaw, nodding before headed into the clubhouse for the one thing that would never leave him: alcohol.

"You good?" Sydney looked up to see Opie standing outside of his truck, realizing that she had zoned out while staring at the clubhouse door in the darkness of the empty parking lot.

"Yeah." She shook her head. "Can I grab a ride with you back to the school?"

"Sure." He nodded.

"You seen Jax?" She knew this was what she needed to do if she wanted to salvage the club's safety, and her relationship.

"I think he's in the apartment."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

"Don't take too long, I can hear Gemma swearing from here."

Sydney shared a laugh with the bearded man before hurrying into the clubhouse, walking right past everyone who had resumed drinking and barging straight to Jax's room.

The blonde man jumped up from the bed when the door flew open, scrambling to close his father's manuscript that he'd hoped to find some solace in after the gruesome scene.

"I have to tell you something." She announced before he could start yelling at her from where he stood at the edge of the bed, fumbling with some old manual he'd been reading. "Love letters?" She quirked an eyebrow at the worn parchment.

"What the hell do you want? You upset that _you_ didn't get to carry it out?"

"Well seeing that your pussy ass couldn't do it, I would've been doing you a favor." She sneered. "What exactly do you think my angle is here, Jackson? Undermine you the way that you undermine Clay?"

"I think you're using that tight pussy and pretty face to take over this town." He scoffed, ignoring her accusation.

Sydney's lips curled up, slowly dragging her feet along the carpet as she walked up to him. "You jealous that I'm not using them on you? Or are you jealous that it's working?" She taunted close to his face with a rasp, if he wanted to be petty - she would be too.

His blue eyes fell to the bruising he'd left on her chest that was almost touching his, quickly looking away before he could allow even more guilt to seep in than he already had tonight.

"What do you want?" He reiterated coldly.

"You need to talk to Tara about Kohn." She took a step back, creating a less threatening distance between the two.

"What?" He had no idea what she was talking about. Why would he talk to Tara about Kohn? They'd barely just reconnected, and she didn't even know who Kohn was or why he was there. "Why?" He scowled.

"It's not my beef." She quoted her earlier words with a sarcastic smile before turning out the door and heading out to meet back up with Opie When she emerged from the hallway, she came face to face with none other than Cheryl and Tig sitting at the bar, turning to look at her when she entered the room. She felt her body freeze, _so much for trying to salvage things._

She tried to shake off the shock, lifting her leg to take a step but her foot stayed firmly planted on the ground. She took a deep breath, successfully taking one step, then another, then another. She refused to let the croweater think that she was phased, forcing herself to raise a brow smugly as she walked past them and out the door.

"So… How about my offer?" Cheryl asked the distraught man compassionately, sliding her hand over his thigh as he longingly watched his girlfriend walk away from him.

Tig looked down at her hand on his leg before he looked up into her eyes, taking one last look out the door and locking eyes with Sydney who stared back at him with what he knew was a deep hate that he would never be able to bring her back from.

Sydney took a shaky breath, willing herself to control her emotions as she walked away from the clubhouse and further into the cool air of the night. She was upset over their ongoing issues and was frustrated that Jax refused to take her - or her efforts - seriously, but she refused to cry over this; something that was her fault, something that she _let_ happen, something that she should've seen coming when she left her old man hanging and lied to him when he needed to blow off steam - forgetting everything she'd always known about what it meant to be a good old lady.

"Everything okay?" Opie asked when she slammed the door of the truck after getting seated on the bench beside him.

"I'm fine." She stared straight ahead.

"He's just jealous, you know." The quiet man informed her after a few moments of stoney silence.

"What?" She came back to earth.

"You tryin to earn your way in." He nodded. "Reminds him that he didn't do shit to get his patch."

"I don't think that's any way to talk about your best friend." Sydney scoffed. She didn't know a lot about Opie, but what she did know was that he was incredibly loyal to his loved ones, and had a rocky relationship with the club and what it had cost him - which made his words that much more surprising.

"It's the only way." He looked over to her with a small smile. "Don't let him get to you." He turned his eyes back to the road. "As for Tig? I don't got any advice for that crazy prick." She gave a watery laugh as he closed out his pep talk with a joke, thankful for the reserved man expressing his acknowledgment of her efforts.

Opie smiled when he got her to laugh, finding a spot in the crowded lot to park his old truck - hoping that Donna wouldn't see him with Sydney. He'd had a trying day, he didn't want to deal with the invasive questions of his wife.

"Thanks Ope." Sydney smiled before parting with the family man, heading over to a tall tree where she sat down onto the lush grass, pulling out a joint and waiting for the fireworks to start in a desperate hope that the combination would distract her from what she knew Tig was doing right now.

"Got anyone to watch them with?"

"You, I hope." A grin spread across Sydney's face when she heard the raspy voice, turning to see Happy standing behind her with a smile. "Where you been hidin?" She hadn't seen him since the Fourth of July party and she'd needed him more than ever, but she knew that if she told him that - she would have to tell him _why_ she needed him, and that wasn't an option.

"You don't wanna know." The Tacoma Killer smirked as he sat next to her, resting his back against the bark of the tree trunk.

"With your secret girlfriend?" She raised a brow, knowing that Happy was staying _somewhere_ if he wasn't staying at the clubhouse while he was in town, and her guess was with the little blonde he'd met at the Fun Town.

"I don't got no girlfriend." He scowled with his lip turned up.

"Okay." She laughed with her hands out in surrender, too emotionally exhausted to grill him about why he'd been keeping it from her.

"How you holdin up?" He asked after minutes of silence, knowing that she was never silent for this long unless something was heavy on her mind.

"Stop talking to me like I'm some fucking charity case." She felt the anger bubbling in her chest, her choice of words in the spur of the moment holding much more meaning than just a response to him checking up on her.

"You got anger." He pointed out with a smirk, her reaction only further supporting his logic.

"Yeah." She backed down, chuckling humorlessly. "I guess so."

"For real."

"I'm ruining him Hap…" She looked away, shaking her head in sorrow.

"Thought you liked having that power." He nudged her with a playful smirk. "You're overthinking it, you just don't know him well enough."

"How am I overthinking it? He doesn't sleep and he drowns himself in whiskey everyday because I'm not what he needs."

Happy had spent enough time in Charming over the years to know that Tig was not an easy man to tame, hence why he hadn't been thus far. Women learned not to bother looking past a one night stand because it wasn't worth it to deal with all of the baggage that accompanied the troubled Sergeant: the man only knew how to act on impulse - and usually with violence and little logic at that. He was loud, obnoxious, unreasonable, stubborn and he drank heavily on a good day - let alone when his many demons, sins, and memories weighed on him.

"He aint drinking because of you."

"What the fuck do you mean he's not drinking because of me?" She looked back at the stone-faced man, widening her eyes in frustration. "He grabs the fucking bottle everytime I-"

"He's drinking because he can't face all that shit in his head tellin him that he'll lose you cause he don't deserve you." He cut off her tantrum. "You _really_ think he wants a perfect old lady?" Happy knew that even after their talk the week prior, the thought was still present by the way that she downplayed her position in his life - humble was never something that he'd taught her to be.

Sydney didn't say anything - knowing that if she did, she would get a lecture about how he didn't repeat himself. She didn't necessarily think that Tig needed a picture perfect housewife, but lately she felt like maybe he needed someone _safer _\- someone who would listen, someone who wasn't reckless, someone who wouldn't worry him more than his own life already did, _someone who wasn't her_.

"Of all the things that could trip you up… It aint blood, it aint bullets, it's romance." Happy chuckled.

"Yeah well, I get it from you." She rolled her eyes with a smile, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder. "This is why I didn't want things to change, it was easier when we were just-"

"You've never liked easy, don't forget who you are." He reminded her, his bicep flexing around her shoulders in anger over the unstable Sergeant twisting up his princess the way that he'd told himself he would never allow a man to do.

"Easy." She calmed him playfully, grabbing his hand that hung from her shoulder.

"He fell for you for a reason." He checked himself, resorting to combating the situation with his words instead of his fists - a relatively uncomfortable and foreign concept for Happy but he knew that it was effective with her, which was all he cared about. "There's plenty of pussy around here that would make a good old lady. Quit thinkin about being what you've convinced yourself he needs, and be yourself - cause that's who he wants."

"He'll get tired of me." She sighed.

"What?" He recoiled, looking down at her with a deep scowl. He had no idea how anyone could ever get tired of someone as exciting as the Cali Queen.

"If I be myself." She clarified, peering through her eyelashes into his dark eyes, the low light making them barely distinguishable. "He'll get tired of having to worry that I'm crossing the line or pissing off the wrong person."

"He'll get over it." Happy nodded reassuringly, he knew that this was just a temporary flare up of Tig's infamous self-doubt.

"If it's not that, it'll be the boring domestic shit that sends you guys riding for the hills." She gave a weak smile while.

Happy chuckled at her paraphrasing as she resumed her position snuggled against his side. "Are you bored?" He asked simply.

"Well no, but-"

"Would you stay if you were?"

"No…" Sydney trailed off, knowing where he was heading with this.

"He's the same. If you aint bored, then he aint either. If he was, he wouldn't stick around. It's what he wants, stop fighting it."

"Guess this is why he came with so many warnings." She chuckled.

"I don't know anyone else who could handle him..."

Sydney nodded, absently staring at the grass beside them - not telling him that he was wrong because if he had been right - that she could handle him, then maybe Tig wouldn't be balls deep in a croweater right now.

"What about everything else?" He recognized the lack of sincerity in her agreement to his previous statement, deciding that maybe a positive subject change would distract her from the doubts she was having about Tig.

"It's been a perfect distraction."

"That all it's been?" He was surprised by her answer, expecting something much more chipper over the leaps and bounds she'd made towards her achieving her goal of earning herself a patch.

"I don't feel like talking, Hap." She sighed sadly.

"Aight." He nodded, squeezing her shoulder but stopping when he felt her tense up, looking down to see her wincing in pain. He lifted his palm, his eyes taking a minute to focus in the darkness before seeing the bruise on her shoulder, his eyes trailing down her collarbone where there was another. "What happened?"

"You don't wanna know." She repeated his own words back to him, laughing convincingly this time before laying back against his chest to watch the display of exploding lights in the sky.

David Hale was on his way out of the fundraiser after having served his civic duty - and a shit load of burgers - when he saw Sydney cuddled up to Happy Lowman under a tree. His brows furrowed in confusion, hadn't she been with Tig earlier? Maybe she _was_ just a patch chaser like he'd expected her to be in the first place, but patch chasers didn't get so involved in the club's business? He stalked to his squad car, flipping open his phone and dialing the one person who knew would truly help him get to the bottom of things: Josh Kohn.

* * *

**How are we feeling (apart from crushed)? Do we think Tig went through with it? What do we think Sydney is going to do?**

_**Song for this chapter: Carousel - Melanie Martinez**_


	30. Defrosting

**ravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 30: DEFROSTING**

Sydney laid in her bed in the early hours of the morning after a sleepless night. She was exhausted, but she'd kept her promise to herself that she wouldn't cry over a problem that she had caused in the first place. As much as she wanted to fix things, she knew that they were beyond repair after what had happened last night. She shook her head at the reminder, putting on her favorite movie and hoping for a distraction from the repetitive thoughts she'd been burdened with for hours.

Happy parked his bike along the rail at TM after spending another night at Maya's house - the little blonde he'd met at the fair. He figured he should return to sleeping in his dorm clubhouse, making a habit out of staying over might give her the wrong idea about his intentions when really, he'd just enjoyed the in-house pussy and a break from listening to Sydney and Tig's constant fucking next door.

The Nomad sauntered into the clubhouse, seeing Tig passed out on the couch. It was early on a Sunday, but it wasn't _that_ early - confirming what Sydney had told him about his current drinking binge.

"Oh, hey brother." Tig sat up quickly after being coaxed awake by footsteps, acting as if he'd been up the whole time.

Happy scoffed, saying nothing to the hungover man across the room before he walked down the hallway to his dorm - happy to see that a croweater had washed his bedding while he was away.

"Hey Hap, can I ask you a question?" Tig stood in the doorway squinting, rubbing his eyes which struggled to adjust to the light - thanks to the pounding in his head.

"Okay." Happy nodded curtly.

"You seen Syd lately?"

"Last night."

"You see those bruises she's got?" Tig chose to ignore the fact that she'd lied to him to spend time with Happy.

"What about em?" The bald man grew impatient when Tig gloated, not wanting to think about their sex life more than he already did.

"Did she tell you where they came from?"

Happy's brow knit in confusion when the taunting came across as more of a question. Sydney had made it sound like they'd come from Tig playing rough, but the way he'd asked was as if he himself was trying to determine their origin.

"No." Happy lied, knowing that if she was lying about where they came from, it was for a reason - a reason that he was going to get to the bottom of.

"Okay, thanks man." Tig retreated, seeing that the Nomad wasn't in the mood to divulge any advice.

"You should get your shit together if you wanna keep her." Happy called after him.

"What?"

"Makin her feel like your shit is her fault."

"I can handle _my_ old lady." The blue eyed man growled.

"Doesn't seem like it."

Tig clenched his fists by his sides, grinding his teeth - he hadn't come to be told that he was fucking things up, he already knew. But he didn't have the strength to fight back in his current state, so he stomped next door to his room where he slammed the door, stripping down and getting into the shower. He didn't even bother adjusting the temperature, throwing himself under the scalding water and scrubbing his body. He voraciously washed his hair as if the action of physically shaking his head would have the same effect on him mentally.

Dripping water, he walked over to the sink where he brushed his teeth before finally towelling off and pulling on fresh clothes - making himself look presentable before he stalked down the hallway and rounded the corner into the bar.

Sydney froze when she was met with the icy blue eyes that she'd been hoping to avoid, her cork wedges putting her much closer to his face. She knew she was going to have to face him sooner or later, but when Happy had called and told her that Clay needed her at the clubhouse, she'd hoped that it meant a delay in the awkward confrontation.

"Where's Clay?" She looked him over, seeing that he had already showered off his night with Cheryl.

"He aint here." Happy announced as he emerged from the hallway, strolling past them with a smirk. Sydney exhaled sharply when she recognized the look on his face, telling her that this had been his plan all along.

"We need to talk…" Tig started once they were alone.

"Why don't you talk to Cheryl? Since you can't talk to me." She hated how the words sounded coming out of her mouth - petty and bitter - but the bubbling anger in her chest made her unable to stop them.

"You think I talked to Cheryl?" He cocked his head back.

"I think you did more than talk..."

Tig bit his lip, shaking his head as he exhaled in frustration for the fact that he'd allowed the ruthless croweater to give Sydney even _more_ reason not to trust him.

"Alright, well did you hear what I said to her? Since you're such a spy."

"Her hands all over you said enough." Her tone was cold, and her expression was hard.

"I'm a taken man." He looked into her eyes with sincerity behind his. "No matter how much you may not want me to be."

"What the hell does that mean?" She scowled, shaking her head in confusion.

He looked to the ground with a crease in his forehead and his lips in a flat line. He knew that she didn't want to be with him, but he couldn't make himself say it out loud, that would make it real...

"Tig…" Her voice cracked before she took a deep breath, seeing that he wasn't willing to elaborate. "Transparency is the only way that this works..." She repeated Gemma's words.

"You sound like Gemma." He scoffed.

"Yeah well, I'm starting to think that she might've been onto something." She chortled.

His head stayed down, unable to meet her eyes. He knew that this was going to go one of two ways: either he would be forced to relive the memory that had been killing him for days, or she would tell him the truth - that he was too damaged for her. Both ended the same: in him with a broken heart.

"Look, I know that you don't wanna talk about Santa Cruz-"

"It's not that I don't want to." He cut her off, shaking his head as his throat locked. "It's that I can't." His voice cracked and his eyes stung with tears. "I want you to know, I just-"

"I don't need to know." She cut him off this time, hoping to ease some of his inner turmoil. "I'm sorry if I made it seem like that. I want you to tell me when you're ready, if that day comes." Her tone was soft and understanding. "But what I _do_ need to know is that the fear it's causing you, isn't going to shit all over what I want…"

"I can't lose you…" He choked out, barely above a whisper.

"I'm not going anywhere, but if I can't live the life that I've chosen... I might have to." His head snapped up when she mentioned leaving because of him, seeing pain in her beautiful big eyes - pain that he caused. "I didn't spend my whole life training just to be an old lady, it's not in my blood. I only know how to navigate this life one way, and I know how to do it well. You need to trust that I know what I'm doing. Because if you keep interfering, someone _will_ end up hurt."

"That's why I fell in love with you." He chuckled humorlessly at the irony of the situation. "Because you could handle yourself."

"Then let me." She whispered, reaching for his hand and stroking her thumb over his bruised knuckles, reminding her that her own bruises played a huge part in why they were having this conversation to begin with. She hoped that her words had been effective enough to keep him from bringing it up again.

Tig squeezed his eyes shut, holding her hand tightly. He did feel _some_ relief over the fact that Clay hadn't had her assassinated for holding him at gunpoint, and now he didn't have the looming dread of having to tell her about his nightmare. Maybe things would be okay...

"I love you. I'm always gonna worry about something happening to you…"

"I'm not saying you can't worry." She shook her head. "I just can't have that worry interfering at the table. We can't judge Jax if we do the same thing."

Tig nodded, his mind going back to Jax when she spoke his name. "I need to know what's going on there." He couldn't let it eat away at him any longer; their personal issues were one thing, but her issues with Jax affected the club - he had a right to know.

_God dammit. _Sydney ground her teeth when he brought it up after she had _almost_ escaped the conversation. She closed her eyes and exhaled, chewing her bottom lip as she weighed her options.

"If I tell you, you need to promise me that you will keep it to yourself… That means that you say _nothing_ to anyone. Nothing to Jax, nothing to Happy, nothing to Clay. Can you do that?"

Tig nodded hesitantly, trying to do what she was asking by trusting that she had things under control.

"Jax was still angry about the Nevada blackmail when he saw me come back with Hale on Thursday, he thought I was pulling some kind of double agent shit so he…" She paused, choosing her words carefully. "_Informed me_ of how he felt about that. He thought that seeing me with Hale gave him some kind of leverage, so he-"

"So he started using it as an excuse to mouth off because he thought you'd want him to keep your secret." Tig connected the dots. "So you're sayin that he…" He looked to the fading mark on her chest that was peeking through her hair that wasn't included in the half-bun on top of her head.

She nodded regrettably, hoping that she hadn't made the wrong choice in trusting that he could control his rage...

"I'm gonna kill him." He snarled, pushing past her and heading toward the door.

"Tig!" The anger of betrayal rose in her chest as he stomped away from her protests. "You promised!" She cried. He stopped - her innocent words yanking on his heartstrings and pulling him right back.

She approached him cautiously as his chest heaved and his arms stayed glued at his sides, placing her delicate hands on his face while he huffed - her soft touch instantly calming him.

"You promised me…" She whispered, walking him backwards and sitting him on the couch near the door - straddling his lap to keep him in place. "Me and Jax are okay. It's rocky, but it's okay." She tried to calm him, soothe him, _reason with him. _"That A.T.F. agent from the booth yesterday, Kohn… He's Tara's ex."

"What?" Tig scowled in shock over the connection.

"It's not a coincidence…" She put his confusion to rest. "He came here for Tara, not SAMCRO. That's where I was going the other day, to talk to Tara." She looked down sadly with a display of guilt at the memory of rushing out after she'd worried him. "Kohn found out about her past with Jax and he's using his power over the club against her. That's the other thing I found out at the station." She looked back up into his eyes. "I _need_ Jax to trust me right now, if he doesn't believe that Kohn is corrupt and dangerous, it could stir something up that lands the entire club in jail."

"You've been doing this for the club the whole time…" Tig realized - everything he'd wondered about over the last few days finally coming together in a way that made sense.

She nodded, stroking his shoulders. "You can retaliate for this." She brushed her straight hair over her shoulder to display the discoloured patch above her crown tattoo. "But it can't be right now, not when Jax thinks that everything I do is to take him down."

"Okay." Tig nodded reluctantly, looking up at her as he pushed the anger further and further down in his chest.

She watched his eyes soften, smiling when she saw it: the way that he looked at her with a love that she thought she'd stripped him of.

Tig's lips pulled up subconsciously to mimic her smile - glad that he was still able to do that to her. He leaned up to kiss her when he was interrupted by a loud hollering.

"Aye!" Tig's head whirled towards the offending noise to see Chibs bounding through the door. "Jesus Christ!" The jolly Scotsman yelled when he looked over to see the pair entangled. "D'you two ever do anythin except dry hump all over the damn place?"

"Ah come on Chibby, it's not always dry." Tig responded with a sly grin, turning back to Sydney to finish what he'd started - but instead she hesitated, getting up off of his lap.

"I need to talk to Clay before everyone else gets here." She announced quickly.

"Should be here any minute." Chibs responded as he scanned the room, looking for a familiar sight of home that _didn't _involve Tigs hands down Sydney's pants.

Tig nodded, feeling a little deflated when she scurried away from him. He felt his doubt come flooding back but he decided to focus on the many positives of the morning instead of the _one_ negative - especially since twenty minutes ago, she'd thought he'd cheated on her.

"And you say I'm sneaky." Happy smirked around his cigarette when he heard Sydney's voice, turning from where he stood at the bike rail.

"You are."

"Apparently I aint the only one. Secret plan, secret girlfriend..." She swiped his cigarette, taking a drag before tossing it back - laughing as he fumbled to catch it and black ash fell all over his grey sweatshirt.

"Work shit out?"

"Yup." She rolled her eyes.

"Good. Now you wanna tell me why you're marked up?"

"Not really." She scoffed, looking to the pavement.

"I wasn't askin, little girl."

"Sure sounded like a question to me." She looked up with a smirk, providing herself with a small bit of verbal recompense for him sticking her nose in her business - no matter how much she appreciated it. "Promise you won't get mad?" She relented when he didn't, asking him innocently while jutting out her lip.

"No."

"I got myself locked up the other day during the raid…"

"Sydney…" Happy stepped closer to her as she rolled her eyes again at the sound of her name coming from his mouth - a sound that she only heard when she was about to catch a lecture. "You do _not_ give the cops any reason to-"

"It was to gather intel." She tried to reason with him as he grew angry over her ignorance to one of the most important rules he'd always instilled in her. "Unser got it dropped, but I made sure it was something minor just to get me in the door."

"They know who you are now."

"It's gonna happen sooner or later… May as well be on my own terms, when I can use it to my advantage."

In the nick of time, Clay pulled into the TM lot on his bike. "Aight." Happy nodded, accepting her answer. "But be careful." He scolded.

"I will." She nodded.

"I'm headin out again."

"Didn't you just get back?" She whined for no purpose other than to piss him off.

"That's what Nomad means. I'll be back soon." He nodded before turning to greet the Northern Cali President.

"Alright. Don't think that you're off the hook for that girlfriend!" She called after him playfully.

"Don't know what you're talking about." He smirked over his shoulder.

"Hap." Clay greeted with outstretched arms and a smile, hugging his brother before the Nomad climbed on his bike and let the machine carry him out of the lot, leaving the two alone.

"You aint packin, are ya?" Clay joked, turning her around by her elbow to check that the waistband of her light washed jeans was empty.

"I could have a gun hiding anywhere…" She joked back, a wave of relief rushing over her when he broached the subject lightheartedly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect by it, I just-"

"Needed to send Jax a message." He surmised easily.

"Yeah…" She smirked. "I know that holding a President at gunpoint doesn't exactly earn one any brownie points but… I was hoping we could just call it even?"

"Even for?" He cocked a brow.

"Gemma."

"You mean your fastpass ticket inside?"

"Potatoe, potato." She shrugged with a smug smile.

"Yeah, okay." Clay chuckled, he couldn't help but admire her boldness - a boldness that he was lucky enough to have on _his_ side.

Sydney smiled and turned to leave, satisfied with the outcome of all the fences she'd mended over the past twenty-four hours.

"Hey!" Her trip to cloud nine was delayed when she heard his low voice calling her back to him. "I'm trusting you here." He looked to her with a raised brow and narrowed blue eyes.

"I won't make you regret it." She assured with a nod, grateful for not only his trust - but also his lack of questions.

"How'd this mornin go?" Clay asked Jax as he sat at the head of the table with a cigar in hand.

"Jarhead's were dicks, but it made Piney happy. I think it's all cool." Jax nodded, speaking for himself and the old man who was busy doing _whatever it was_ that he did, tossing the envelope containing $10k from Meineke onto the table

"Any tails?"

"Nah, doubled back three times - no one followed us."

Clay nodded, turning his attention to Chibs for an answer about his _real_ concern. "Who'd McKeevy see up north?"

"A few gun brokers, some Irish ex-pats, some fat black hookers." The Scotsman spoke as he removed his gloves while snickers filled the room.

"Where's he now?"

"Port Authority contacts. We got a week, then he wants his $200k."

"We're workin on it…" Clay grimaced, looking away.

"Clay, he made it very clear. We gotta have the money up front for the IRA to keep them flush, otherwise they sell to the Russians."

"Laroy's gonna take his two orders today. If we convince Jury to buy even _some_ of those guns, we bank over two hundred." Bobby informed them of the good news.

"So we convince him." Clay stamped out his cigar. "We ride up tomorrow, pitch the guns - have them delivered by the end of the week before McKeevy gets back."

Tig nodded his confirmation quickly, the rest of the table seemingly on board as Jax nodded much slower.

"Who's on the relay? How're we working it?" Sydney asked, ignoring the side-eye Jax was giving her.

"We're gonna need a big presence in Nevada." Bobby leant against his chair from where he stood behind it. "Need to show the Mayans that we aint fuckin around this time."

"Organize another charity ride." Clay nodded to Juice who shot up out of his seat and jogged out of the chapel, eager to do something helpful since he had been out of commission. "Me, Tig, Jax, Bobby, Ope, Chibs. Sack and Juice in the van. Rollie said shit with the Mayans has been quiet, it should be enough."

Tig was relieved to hear that Sydney wasn't on the roster. He knew that he needed to get over his fear of something happening to her - but it was easier said than done, and being spared of the burden of worry he would harbour the entire ride into dangerous territory was something he was grateful for.

Sydney smiled at Kip where he sat in the corner of the room by Jax - so elated that the prospect was getting recognition and a chance to shine, that she didn't even care about not being on the relay. That was until she realized…

"Day ride?" She asked Clay, silently hoping that he would say yes and put her looming worry to rest for another day.

"Nah. Vegas' gonna wanna visit. Gonna stay the night - show of good faith."

She nodded as she slid her gold pendant along the chain, her eyes fixated on the smouldering cigar in the ashtray in front of her. Tig _had_ told her this morning that he had no intention of cheating, but the M.C. lifestyle had a _very _different definition of cheating than she did - a definition she'd never had before Tig, hence why they'd never discussed the run clause.

"Clay! Friends are back." Juice called, referring to the security screen where two black SUV's pulled onto the compound, followed by Hale in his wagon.

Tig and Sydney exchanged a worried glance - being the only ones who knew the truth behind the pending A.T.F. investigation - before the chapel cleared out, everyone following their President outside.

"Are you the feds, or limo drivers?" Clay greeted with a grin.

A skinny woman with sandy blonde hair approached with a smile, producing her badge. "Agent Stahl - A.T.F., I'm looking for the owner of Teller-Morrow Automotive." She spoke directly to the outlaw President who she already knew to be the owner of the garage, completely ignoring the VP standing next to him with his chest puffed out.

"That's me." Clay nodded.

"Come on." Hale nodded, grabbing Clay's wrists and turning him around as he secured his handcuffs around them.

"You gonna bother mentionin a charge?"

"What the hell is going on?" Gemma yelled, appearing on the scene when she saw her husband in cuffs from where she had been working in the office - the sight bringing back far too many memories.

"No charges yet. I just need to discuss your relationship with a 'Nate Meineke'."

Worry pulsed through the veins of each and every member standing on the compound, running over every possible scenario in their heads as to _where_ A.T.F. got whatever intel it was that they had, and what it meant for them.

"Who?"

"Nate Meineke. He's one of the men who held up a prison transport vehicle this morning, killed three people with AK-47's." The Agent nodded to her partner who began walking Clay to her vehicle. "We found Mr. Meineke's cell phone at the scene, the last call he received was from your garage."

"Jesus christ…" Jax muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"This is very bad…" Sydney spoke, glancing up at Tig who shook his head regretfully in response to the shit storm that was taking shape.

"Get Piney here, look for _any_ cover we can use for Meineke." Jax ordered Opie and Juice.

"This have anything to do with that raid the other day?" Gemma narrowed her eyes at her son.

"Go back to the office, business as usual. I'll tell you more when I can." She nodded reluctantly when she heard the seriousness in his command, heading back to the office where she attempted to focus on her paperwork and keep her worry at bay.

"I was in the garage, I was just waitin for you. I called Nate to confirm the meet, I never thought anything like this would happen." Piney explained to the table once he arrived.

"You had no idea what they were up to, Pop." Opie assured his father.

"I don't get off that easy though, I let friendship interfere with business, I know better..." Sydney was glad to hear the old man admit his faults, but it didn't change how shocked she was that this had happened in the first place - a minor slip up that could take down the entire M.C..

"You gotta reach out to them Piney… We gotta find these guys before the feds do."

"Nate would not rat on me." Piney assured the angry VP.

"No, but his dipshit kid sure will."

"It's just a matter of time before the feds connect you to Nate and come after you too." Opie pointed out.

For the sake of keeping the peace with Jax, and respect for how Opie had gone out of his way to make her feel better the night before, Sydney kept her snarky comment to herself about how it that seemed all the lifelong pals needed to see the bigger picture was a little push from the law.

"You know Opie, I don't give a shit. How's that?" Piney's forthcomingness faded as soon as his son opened his mouth.

"Yeah, well I do." Jax intervened, having enough father-son issues of his own to deal with. "Take him to the cabin." He nodded to Opie.

"Oh, so you're calling the shots now?" Piney scoffed.

"That-"

"That's what the VP patch means, old man." Sydney cut Jax off as she defended him with the simple fact, unable to pass up the opportunity to earn herself some credit with him that didn't involve kissing his ass.

"Yeah…" Piney relented, getting up out of his seat and heading out the door to follow the order of his VP.

"He's just pissed at himself…" Opie tried to defend his father's disrespect. "We'll find them." He nodded before following his old man out to ensure that he got up to the cabin safely.

Jax was shaking his head when Bobby appeared in the doorway after spending his morning on the phone, trying to mitigate the damages. "Hey, you call Trammel?"

"Trammel called us, looking for Clay."

"Ah shit…" Jax knew that the corrupt cop _never_ contacted them first unless it was serious. "Tig, you go handle this. Make sure Trammel knows that if they find these guys, it is bad for _all_ of us."

"Absolutely." Tig nodded obediently, getting up to head out.

"We got another problem." Bobby's sorrowful tone stopped the Sergeant. "Laroy heard about what happened. Won't touch those AK's…"

"Fuck." Jax groaned, running his hands over his face and through his long hair. "Okay, we figure out the Irish later, go talk to Trammel." He nodded to Tig, concluding the session.

"Clay's gonna need that ride to Nevada tomorrow to happen now more than ever, you make sure that everything is set up." Tig ordered Sydney as she followed him outside, hastily walking towards his bike while everyone dispersed to get a start on their given tasks to try and keep the situation under control despite the mounting pressure and absence of their President.

"I'll make sure Bobby's on standby in case Clay uses his call." She nodded.

"Anything longer than a few hours, you call Rosen." He instructed with wide eyes as he turned to face her when they reached his bike. He looked down at her for a second, contemplating his next move before pushing the thought away and quickly reaching for his helmet.

Sydney saw his thought process clear as day; hesitating in response to the fact that she had rejected his advance this morning. She watched him reach for his helmet as if he was moving in slow motion, holding it in his hand while digging in his pocket for his keys and bringing the engine of his Dyna to life. She grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her and crashing her lips into his in a passionate, emotional kiss, tears pricking behind her closed eyes.

Tig kissed her back, his body melting instantly - feeling the worry physically escape him as she clutched to his arm before she pulled away and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her just as roughly, squeezing her tight before pulling away and kissing her again, feeling her hands on his face and her lips against his bruisingly in the short time that they had to express their emotions through touch - the way that they knew best.

"You be careful." He told her with his hands still around her waist once their lips parted, his thumbs stroking the cotton of the tight black top she wore, wishing that he didn't have to let go.

She nodded with watery eyes, kissing him one last time before he pulled his helmet on and sped out of the lot, finally feeling like he could breathe again.

* * *

**We can all sleep in peace again... For now😅 What are y'alls opinions on Stahl? I hate her but I also love a good villain, and she cracks me up :/ Also the BIGGEST thank you to Luka for lending me her OC, Maya (aka the only Happy x OC pairing that matters)**


	31. A, T, and F

**Sorry for the long wait, everything going on in the world has it a little hard to focus? I hope you're all staying safe ️**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

"Can't get a warrant." Hale reported to Stahl regrettably as they stood in the middle of the police station with Clay Morrow in custody.

"What? Why the hell not?" She sneered, already frustrated with how her unsuccessful interrogation with the President had gone - obtaining nothing useful from the man that she _knew_ was a criminal. With three dead innocents, and a connection between a convicted gunrunner and illegal AK-47's - a warrant should've been a piece of cake.

"Raided their clubhouse on Wednesday after a similar connection, turned up nothing. D.A. won't issue another warrant this soon with no hard evidence."

"Shit." She began pacing. "Who initiated the first warrant?" She knew that if the cell phone and prior gun convictions weren't enough for a second warrant, then there _had_ to have been more push to the first one than just a small town P.D. request.

"I think you're looking for me…" She turned to see a grey haired man standing from a desk he'd previously been seated on. "Agent Kohn." The man introduced himself, flashing his badge.

"I guess Chicago doesn't have a dress code, huh?" She looked the casually dressed man up and down disapprovingly. "What brings you here?"

"I can't discuss the specifics of my investigati-"

"Oh give me a break, sparky." She scoffed. "Any investigation we've started is going down the drain thanks to that bullshit raid. Who's your superior? Gainsley?" She spoke with a raised brow and a sharp tone, letting him know that she could shut down his rogue efforts in a second, because she knew right away that it's exactly what they were - _rogue efforts. _An agent on a proper transfer would've been dispatched to Stockton, not Charming.

"I can share these…" Kohn gave the skinny woman a smug smirk as he retreated back to the desk he'd taken up residence at, retrieving a folder that he'd been saving all day for this exact moment. "I followed Sons of Anarchy to Nevada less than a week ago, a war broke out with a rival M.C.." The foreigner produced a photo of three Mayans chasing Jax and Bobby.

"This is Piney Winston." Hale chimed in, opening his own folder to Piney's mugshot - backing up Kohn to keep the investigation alive, just as they had planned. "S.O.A.'s founding elder, did multiple T.O.D.'s in Nam. Guess what two guys were in his platoon." He smirked as he flipped the page, presenting the uptight agent with his evidence. "Nate Meineke, and Frank Cison - the father of that guy they freed from the prison transport."

"Mother's little helpers." Stahl smirked, taking a deep, cleansing breath as she slapped both of the men on their asses. Leaving them shocked as she strutted away into her temporary office where she began processing the new information and how she could use it to build her case best.

"Nothin's comin up under 'Meineke' other than discount mufflers." Juice reported to Jax from the couch where he sat furiously searching his laptop, having taken over the task of trying to come up with a cover while Sydney handled setting up the charity ride.

"We could say we were just looking for parts… Calling around to known contacts, club associates." Sydney shouted from across the bar where she sat on the pool table cross legged with her shoes off, holding a burner to her ear. "Sorry Rol." She returned to her phone call with the SAMNOV President, ensuring that everything was in place for their arrival tomorrow.

Jax nodded haphazardly at her suggestion, turning when he heard a voice that he shouldn't have heard…

"What's goin on?" Piney inquired from the doorway.

"I thought I told you to go underground." He scowled with his arms out expectantly, looking to Opie who just shook his head.

Piney put his hand up to silence the blonde man. "Nate reached out. They're in some survivalist bunker outside of Woodridge forest.

"Great, you gotta set up a meet."

"And then what happens?"

"They killed three people and they're a straight line back to this club. What the hell do you think happens?" Sydney snapped the phone shut, hopping off of the table.

The old man ground his teeth, turning to face the know-it-all of a little girl when he was stopped by his VP. "She's right." He turned his anger to Jax instead, frustrated that the lemon-headed children seemed to think that they could tell him what to do.

"Met with Trammel." Tig's voice cut the tension as he came barreling through the door. "He aint gonna be easy to keep on our side man... One of those dead cops was his best friend - fifteen years. He wants to walk away."

"Well what did you tell him?" Jax asked worriedly.

"The truth, that this only works with the two of us together, or one of us dead." He nodded, grateful for members like Tig who he could task to threaten a good man like Trammel when it had to be done and he couldn't stomach it himself. "I told him we'd be waitin on his call."

"Vegas and Indian Hills are all up to speed on how tomorrow's going down." Sydney added.

"Okay." Jax nodded again, glad that the usually combative couple was backing him while he was in charge.

"Not waitin anymore." Bobby announced as he too, entered the clubhouse. "They don't got shit, Clay will be out tonight."

"Okay." Jax breathed a sigh of relief at the good news, glad that he was now able to focus his efforts elsewhere: like finding out what the fuck Tara had to do with Kohn.

Hale opened the door to his office to see Agent Stahl sitting in his chair waiting for him. "Kohn said this truck was on their lot a few weeks ago." She nodded to the pictures displayed across the desk of the cargo truck that McKeevy used to transport the AK's. "I'm guessing this is how they're getting their guns into the country."

"Yeah, we've suspected that they've been using oil drums as a transport method for some time now."

"Dungloe Ireland, True IRA territory…Outlaw Irish." She mused. "This could be huge, Deputy." She stood, pacing around the room. "If the Sons of Anarchy are running guns through a known terrorist organization, well that puts your little motorcycle club on at least half of a dozen federal watchlists." She circled him like a vulture, stopping behind him as she leant into his ear. "My nipples are unbelievably hard right now." She whispered, turning towards the door.

"I'm gonna pull in homeland security, treasury, we might just shut this Harley mafia down for good." She gathered her belongings before heading off. "I'll be in touch."

"Did you brief Agent Kohn on this?"

"Oh, you know I called Chicago and uh, Kohn's supervisor seems to think he's on vacation in Oregon." Stahl wasn't surprised when she'd found out what she already knew - that the skinny man had something personal against the M.C.. "Let me know if he stirs anything up with SAMCRO, and keep this inside your khakis."

Hale's brow creased - Kohn had told him that he was here on a gun running operation through Chicago that led back to SAMCRO in Charming? Why would he lie?

"Oh!" Stahl called over her shoulder. "Clay Morrow's free to go." She smirked as she left the station house for the day.

The club had reconvened at the table when they found out that Clay had finally been cut loose, cheering as their President walked through the chapel doors.

"Well, charity ride is all set up for tomorrow." Jax reported, hoping he would still be able to sway the club in the other direction...

"Good." Clay replied with a sincere smile, sharing a nod of respect with his VP for how he'd held the fort down during the trying situation - the way that it should be.

"Nate called, wants to make a deal on the rest of those AK's…"

"Russel knows nobody'll touch them, ten grand for all thirty-six." Opie informed dismally, stamping out his cigarette.

"Shit… Those guns are worth ten times that…" Bobby groaned.

"Dead men are pure profit." Sydney reminded, they would be getting their guns back anyways - anything that they could get from the peckerwoods brought them closer to their goal. "It sounds like we're gonna need it to keep Trammel happy…"

"Yeah that's a good point." Jax nodded. "Set it up for Tuesday when we're back from Indian Hills."

"What the hell are we gonna do about McKeevy?"

"We still got Jury." Clay reminded them of their insurance policy, if they could convince Jury to buy more than they had originally budgeted for, they would square their debt with the Irish - to hell with Laroy. "We get him to front the cash."

Jax's anger over the situation when he heard Clay's suggestion, he'd slowly begun to get over Sydney's little side deal at his uncle's expense - but using him as a bank was pushing it.

"I don't know man… They don't earn like we do, there's no way they're gonna take more than one of Laroy's orders. Is it even worth it? I mean with the feds, the Mayan heat…"

"A.T.F.'s got shit, it's all smoke." Clay didn't have the energy to argue. "Jury can put money in our pockets that we need until we can convince Laroy that our guns are safe."

"Let me talk to Laroy." Sydney's voice carried across the table. It was the perfect solution. If she offered her services - Clay would see it as her doing the club a solid, and Jax would see it as her trying to mitigate the damages she'd caused with Jury.

"No." Tig answered before anyone else could, the impulse working too quick for him to even think about what he was saying before it came out.

"You care about the future of this club? You'll let me talk to Laroy." She retorted, choosing not to take his response too personally after their talk this morning.

"Tig's right." Clay stopped her. "Laroy aint a man of reason."

"Alright fine, then what if we _do_ let him hear that we're selling at a discount. It's not ideal but it's like you said, that money is money that we need right now."

"Laroy'll let up on whatever discount he's expecting in a few weeks once his supply starts wearin thin, he just wants to show us how big his dick is." Sydney nodded slowly, staring into the eyes of the reaper carved into the table. _What would a reaper do? _

"It's late, and I'm tired, and you'll handle it…" If Sydney hadn't turned her attention to Clay when he spoke, she would've missed the glance that he tossed her as he stood from his chair - his cryptic words spreading a smile across her face. "I'm gonna head home, crash before we gotta ride out tomorrow."

"We'll talk in the daylight." Jax nodded.

"In the daylight…"

"Rollie said they'll be meeting you guys just over the border, they know the drill about the charity front and they're ready in case the Mayans step out." Sydney walked with Tig by her side, spouting off meaningless details about the ride out tomorrow to distract him from the fact that she was heading to her car - hoping that it would stop him from extending the invitation for her to stay the night.

Her words blurred together in his mind once he realized what she was doing - her voice fading out as the angry, hateful one inside his head took over. He shook it away, refusing to listen after the day they'd had. He didn't expect her to magically act like _everything_ was okay again, and he wasn't going to set himself up for disappointment by hoping that it would be.

When they reached her car in the corner of the lot, she turned to face him, looking up at him with those innocent eyes - the moonlight bouncing off of them. "I'll see you tomorrow before you go…" She said by way of an apology, offering compensation for leaving him once again.

"Okay baby." He whispered, nodding and resting his forehead against hers - closing his eyes and inhaling her sweet scent while he still could.

Sydney pulled away, unlocking her car and getting in before things escalated because she _knew_ that they would. She avoided his eyes as she started the engine, not wanting to see the pain she was causing.

Tig looked down to his boots as his heart stung, the voice in the back of his mind crashing through the walls he'd put up - telling him that everything she'd said and done earlier was just to delay the inevitable because she felt sorry for him.

He leaned down, resting his arm on the doorframe where her window was open. "I love you." He nodded sadly.

She looked up at him with a sincerity behind her pained expression. "I love you too." She pushed herself up in her seat to kiss him, feeling better that the embrace would remain under control with the barrier between them.

All Tig felt when their lips met was confusion. Her actions said that she wanted nothing to do with him, but her kiss said different - but why would she cut herself off from him if she didn't want to? He hoped that the short time apart would provide them with some clarity, that taking the step away would help them be able to come together without any reservations or clouded views of their relationship. The rough patch hadn't had any impact on his love for her - but if there was one thing that he'd learned over the years about his love, it was that it'd never been enough to keep anyone around.

Sydney laid in bed in the late hours of the night with her eyes open wide, tipping the glass of ice water over her stomach - her body jolting when the cold liquid made contact with her bare skin. She shivered, shaking her head and focusing her eyes on the TV in front of her - having gone to extreme measures to keep herself awake for another night so that it would be impossible for her to stay awake with worry about what Tig was doing while he was in Nevada.

Once it was finally late enough in the morning for Sydney to justify getting a start on her day, she raced out of bed and into the shower which she kept cold, blasting music through every corner of her house to keep her awake. When she got out of the shower, she didn't bother towelling off - letting the water drip down her body before pulling on a tight grey top and some black boyshorts which became damp instantly, keeping her from getting too comfortable.

She was on her way downstairs for some much needed caffeine when she was startled by a loud knocking at the door as she passed by - unsure how long whoever was on the other side had been knocking, with how loud her music was. She peered through the peephole while her heart pounded in her chest, the over-exhaustion sending her into an anxiety overdrive rather than the cool, calm, and collected that she usually was. She scowled when she recognized the sandy brown buzzcut and big ears, opening the door to David Hale.

"Come to arrest me?" She greeted, sliding her thumb across the screen of her phone to stop the loud music before turning around and walking to the kitchen without a word.

Hale was surprised when Sydney opened the door, not knowing that his first call of the day was about her. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when she left the door open and walked away, his eyes trailing down her body and landing on that perfect ass that she hadn't bothered to cover up with proper bottoms, and now she was inviting him into her house? He closed his eyes, shaking the thought away before walking inside cautiously.

"Noise complaint." He stated his reason for the early morning visit as he looked around her house on his short walk to the kitchen, gazing upon the beautiful paintings she had displayed down the hallway.

"Sorry, forgot about the time." Her apology was bland as he entered the kitchen to see her brewing up a fresh pot of coffee.

His eyes lingered on the wet top that clung to her body, the cool air hardening her nipples… "You look tired." He choked out, finding the first thing he could use to divert his attention - which happened to be the heavy bags under her bloodshot eyes.

"Maybe that's because it's 6:00 A.M.."

"You're up early." He nodded in agreement.

"Observant. You picking up a few tricks from that fed?" She scoffed sarcastically.

Hale smiled at her joke, tilting his head as he stood with his hands on his hips. "Any reason why?"

"Same as you, Deputy. Duty calls." She looked to him expectantly, with a snip in her tone.

"Not a morning person I take it."

"Not particularly." She smiled sarcastically as she poured her coffee.

Hale left after minimal early morning conversation and maximum temptation, realizing only after he'd begun driving away from her house that he hadn't even remembered to give her a warning about the music - having been too focused on her, rather than his job.

Sydney chuckled as she watched the chump of a cop drive away, smirking as she pressed play on her phone which sent music blaring through the speakers once again, heading upstairs to get ready for the day - she was wide awake now.

Hale was hovering over the desk of one of his newer officers, reviewing some paperwork she'd drawn up when he overhead a call to dispatch across the station for a noise complaint at the same house he'd been to a few hours ago - Sydney's. He looked up to see Gutierrez - the officer who had caught him with Sydney in the holding cells - eyeing him disapprovingly as he pulled on his jacket to go out and handle the call since his deputy was clearly incapable.

"Mark!" Hale called after the dark haired man. "Eglee needs help." He stormed past him, heading out to his wagon before he could protest.

"David!" The older man followed him out, cornering him in the parking lot. "You turning on us like old man Wayne? Huh?"

"I'm not turning on anybody, I'm doing my job." Hale sneered. He wished that his corrupt superior hadn't pushed him to the secrecy that has his coworkers thinking that he was a sellout too.

"Biker pussy says otherwise, mano…"

Hale took a step closer, staring down the older man before pushing past him and getting in his vehicle. He cursed the little club slut the entire way to her house for the fact that she was so damn charming, having him looking like a fool in front of his inferiors.

Sydney snickered when she peered out her bedroom window to see Hale pulling up outside of her house for the second time today. She finished lacing the strings of her black heels up her calves, spritzed her perfume, and grabbed her bag before heading downstairs to wait for his arrival at her front door.

Hale's brow creased when he started up the walkway and the music stopped, continuing his path to the door which opened the second that he began knocking.

"Back for me so soon?" Sydney opened the door theatrically with a wide grin.

Once again, she made it almost impossible for him to do his job as he looked her over in the skin tight outfit she wore: a tight leopard print bodysuit displaying major sideboob, ripped black denim shorts, and black high heels that made her almost as tall as he was - which weirdly turned him on even more.

"I'm doing my job." He clenched his jaw.

"Mmm." She nodded half heartedly as she slid on her sunglasses. "Not well, it seems." She stepped over the threshold, standing so close to him that her ass rubbed up against his crotch as she turned to lock the door.

The cop stood still with his breath lodged in his throat, almost going blue in the face before she finally moved to a safer distance and walked away from him while he gasped for air as discreetly as possible.

"I would be able to do my job if you wouldn't make it so hard for me." He sneered angrily at her blatant disrespect, following her to the front of her garage.

"It aint the only thing I make hard for you." She trailed her eyes down his body with a smirk. "I just wanted to see you again, Davey…" She pouted as she punched in the garage code with no regard for the fact that a police officer was trying to reprimand her. "Plus, the way I see it? You wouldn't have a job if it weren't for people like me." She grinned.

"A second visit would usually result in a fine." He threatened, following her as she got into her car.

"But a first warning wouldn't, and I don't seem to recall you giving me one of those earlier…" She looked up at him, feigning confusion. "Have a good day, Deputy." She let her car roll down the driveway, stopping when she reached the end. "Hey! Close the door on your way out, would ya?" She hollered with a cackle as the man stood mindblown in the middle of her garage.

Sydney parked her car in the crowded lot at TM as everyone readied up to ride out, getting out and strutting over to Tig where she received a barrage of wolf whistles - thanks to her choice of attire. The morning confrontations with the lawman - and attention from someone who didn't fluster her to no end - had successfully woken her up and lifted her spirits, giving her a reminder of who she was.

Tig looked up to see what all the commotion was about when he saw Sydney prancing towards him, her tits bouncing and her hips swinging. He ripped off his sunglasses to take in the sight of her, memorizing every inch of her body, intending on using this image to help him sleep peacefully in Nevada. If her mission was to remind him what he would be missing while he was gone; it was working.

Jax watched Sydney approach the group, participating in the wolf whistling in an attempt to show some good faith. He was still unhappy with the situation, but she had been a big help to him yesterday, and most of all: he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Tara yet about Kohn with their conflicting schedules, and if things continued to stand in their way, he may need some good karma in the bank to get the intel from the source herself…

"Goddamn…" Tig groaned from where he sat on his bike as Sydney strutted up to him. "This all for me?" He smirked, looking her up and down as he reached out, trailing his hands up her thighs, over her ass and up her sides before turning her around to get a full view.

"It sure is." She cooed as she bent over for him.

His eyes widened when the tiny shorts rode up, revealing even more of her ass than they already did - grabbing her elbow and spinning her back around to face him, hauling her into his arms before anyone else could take part in the peep show.

"Can't have you forgettin about me while you're gone." She quipped once she stopped giggling, but the lightness didn't quite reach her eyes as the worry still clouded her mind.

"I think some pics would do the trick…" He growled, raising a brow suggestively.

Sydney laughed, winding her arms around his neck and leaning into his ear. "I think I could arrange something…" She rasped before hugging him tight, her smile fading quickly as she searched for reassurance in the closeness of the embrace.

"I'll be waitin." Tig husked, nodding with a lazy smile as he hugged her back. "Think I could get away with a quickie?" He whispered with a smirk.

She peeked over his shoulder to see Clay watching them unamused. "Yeah… I don't think you'll escape with your balls attached." She pulled away, her gaze returning to him. "And I'm gonna need those when you get back." She smirked with a raised brow.

"Damn." He pursed his lips and shook his head before swiftly yanking her back into his arms, grinning while she laughed again so purely.

Sydney gripped the curls at the back of his neck as he held onto her, pulling his lips to hers in a passionate kiss, pushing her tongue into his mouth before he dipped her backwards with the same enthusiasm. She was much more eager to entertain his advances when she knew that there wasn't much he could do to act on them.

He pulled her back upright, turning so that his back was to his brothers and she was in front of him, shielding her from their inquisitive eyes as he slid his hands into the open sides of her shirt, using his palms to cover her tits - something that the skimpy top barely did.

"You're bad Tiggy…" She cooed innocently, biting her lip.

"Hey come on babe, you said you didn't want me to forget ya." He winked, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples as he leaned back in to kiss her, capturing her bottom lip between his teeth now before he moved down to her neck.

Sydney felt his open mouth on her sensitive skin, knowing what he was about to do - and she couldn't have that. She pushed him back lightly before his teeth could make their mark, quickly finding a cover as she grabbed his hand and slid it down the front of her body.

"If you want somethin to remember…"

"Alright that's enough!" Clay's voice halted her action as she'd _almost_ gotten his fingers to their destination below her waistband. "Jesus Christ!" The President winced, shaking his head in disgust. Sydney looked back at Tig, cocking a brow and winking as she slid his hand out of her shorts.

"You tease…" He growled playfully.

"Gotta give you somethin to come back for." She shrugged with a flirty smile.

"Let's go!" Clay hollered to his crew, a chorus of rumbling engines following his command.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Tig looked Sydney over one last time.

"I love you, ride safe." She nodded.

"I always ride safe." He scoffed with a sly grin. "I love you too." He pulled her in for one last kiss before rolling his back forward into the proper formation. _This was nice_, he thought: An old lady that wasn't begging him to stay behind or worrying herself sick over the girls that he would be around tonight, she understood the life.

Sydney walked over to where Gemma was kissing Clay goodbye, the President dismissing his wife who moved on to bid her son a safe trip.

"Is that just a farewell outfit, or d'you got other plans?" Clay asked with a raised brow.

"I'm _handling_ it."

"Knew I could count on ya to hold things down while we're gone." He nodded curtly with a smile.

"Ride safe, Pres." She smiled, retreating to where Gemma stood with Precious, waving goodbye as their old men set off for the day.

The second that the premises was clear of Harleys, Sydney dropped her eagerly waving hand. "I'll be back later, keep Piney under control." She called to Gemma before racing to her car, firing up the engine and peeling out of the compound.

Less than an hour later, Sydney parked her car on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland. She shoved her purse under the seat and locked her car as she got out, beginning her stroll down the road as her heels clacked over the pavement. She admired the graffiti covered apartment buildings and small businesses before she reached her destination, standing before the heavy iron door with the identifying symbol of the One-Niners.

* * *

**So like… Hale still didn't give her a warning lmao. Als sweet, oblivious Tiggy, if only you knew…**


	32. The Cali Queen

**Rollie's faceclaim is Hulk Hogan :/**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 32: THE CALI QUEEN**

"There's some white bitch here to see you." Tanisha barked through the phone at Laroy, who assumed by the snip in her tone that she had to have been talking about the Sons - given their current standing.

"God damn… Aight." The gang leader snapped his burner shut, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he motioned for his crew to follow him back to headquarters to deal with the whiny bikers.

Less than ten minutes later, the door to the Niners bar swung open, two of Laroy's men bursting in with guns in hand to ensure the safety of their leader before he entered the building.

Sydney looked up from her drink where she sat in the corner booth, raising her brow in response to the heavy precaution - now understanding why the Niners were always so impatient about their guns if these were the security measures that they had to take with the types of people that they usually dealt with.

"It's a friendly visit actually…" She smiled sarcastically at the men who stood before her with their brows knit.

Darnell lowered his gun, looking to his partner in confusion when the source of the threat was revealed to just be a little blonde girl.

"I guess when she said bitch, she really meant bitch." Teej laughed, lowering his weapon as well before stalking to the door where he let Laroy know that the coast was all clear, and that the surprise visitor was actually just another one of his heartbroken one-night stands.

"Who the hell are you?" Laroy greeted the unwelcome guest who was keeping him from tending to business - immediately regretting his choice of words when Darnell moved out of the way and he laid his eyes on the prime piece of ass that was there to see him.

"Hi Mr. Wayne." She greeted with a flirty grin.

"Can I kick her out now?" Tanisha groaned impatiently from across the room.

"Nah… Shawty can hang." Laroy recognized the raspy coo immediately, realizing that there _had_ been a threat after all... "Where're your little bitch boys at?"

"I wanted to come talk to you myself..." She stood from the table, giving him a proper view of her revealing outfit. "Alone?"

"Yeah… Okay." He bit his lip, nodding for her to follow him as he headed to the back of the bar.

Sydney smirked at the black haired girl as she huffed behind the bar, following Laroy with a swing in her hips as he led her through a short hallway and into the area of their establishment where they conducted their _actual _business - not the front that they used the bar for.

"So, what can I do for you?" The short haired man sat down once they were in a private room, kicking back once he was seated on the black leather couch.

"I hear you're too scared to touch our guns." She cut right to the chase, speaking the blunt statement with a taunt as she sat down next to him. "I didn't take you to be a man of fear, Mr. Wayne…"

"You think you're gonna come up here and sweet talk your way into changin my mind?" He didn't bother defending himself against her insulting accusation.

"Well, it wasn't exactly my sweet talking that I was relying on…" She spoke in a low voice as she leant into him, swinging her leg over his lap and getting settled. "But my mouth…"

"What about that old man of yours?" He sat still, not yet wanting her to know how easily he was willing to give in if this was how she was planning on trying to convince him.

"Well he aint here, is he?" She spoke against his neck, sliding her hands over his chest.

Laroy smirked when she purred into his ear, bringing his hands up her smooth thighs before grabbing a handful of that thick, juicy ass that had _no_ business on a white girl. He leaned up to kiss her properly, but before he could do so, she fell back onto the couch - pulling him down on top of her. He chuckled at her eagerness, pressing his pelvis against hers and leaning to kiss her again but this time the action didn't land him between her legs - it landed him on the ground with a gun between his eyes.

Sydney smirked as she held her finger over the trigger of her trusty Colt Pony - the tiny gun that she could hide in her high waistband undetected - the man had made it far too easy to get him into the exact position that she wanted him.

"Damn… I thought you'd at least give me a _little bit_ of a fight." She pouted.

"What the _hell_ is this?" He raised his voice, glaring into her green eyes as his flashed with rage.

"You're gonna take those guns." She sneered with wide eyes.

"The fuck I am!-" She cocked her gun, pressing it harder into his forehead.

"Yes. You. Are." She growled through gritted teeth, letting all of her anger from the last few days take over. "And if you don't, I'm gonna shoot you."

"You kill me, my boys'll come in here and destroy that-"

"I never said I was gonna kill you, Mr. Wayne." She cut him off. "I said I was gonna shoot you. Right here." She jabbed her gun between his lungs. "Nothin too serious, you'll live if you get immediate medical attention, but if you decide that you don't wanna be my safe ticket outta here..." She tilted her head, shrugging with pouty lips.

"You kill me? They rape you, then they kill you. You shoot me? It'd just take a little longer for them to get the job done."

"You think I haven't thought of that, sweetheart? I'd like to see them try, they'll end up like all the other men who've tried to rape and kill me."

"How am I supposed to know you aint lyin?" He tried calling her bluff, figuring it was the only possible way he had out of this, because even if he had his doubts about the ability of the tiny girl to defend herself against a gang of big men, she was the one who had him on his back right now.

"You ever heard of The Cali Queen?"

"Southern Cali mob boss... The fuck's that got to do with anything?"

"That's where you're wrong…" She brushed her straight hair out of the way, drawing his attention to the crown tattoo on her chest.

Laroy's dark eyes widened when he made sense of what she was telling him, never in a million years had he expected the reputation of the distant criminal to belong to such a young and beautiful woman.

"Your boys even think about touching me? You'll have all of Charming, San Bernardino, and Tacoma after you." She sneered. "So how about those guns?"

"I'm listenin." He sighed in defeat, knowing that the instant gratification was not worth the war it would start.

"You're gonna take those two orders, and you're going to keep ordering as usual. I'll even let you have the first two for fifty - a discount for the bruised ego." She chortled cockily while the angry man glared at her.

"Aight." He spit out angrily.

"Glad we could come to an agreement, Mr. Wayne." She smiled cheerily, getting to her feet and turning to walk out the door.

"I'll only do it if-" She turned back around, looking to him expectantly. "You're there. I ain't dealing with that old man no more."

"Deal." She smiled. "I'll have my bitch boys set it up." She winked.

"**You okay?" Sydney heard from behind her as she sat on her knees of the kitchen floor, unable to formulate any kind of response while nothing but pure, uncut, post-murder adrenaline coursed through her body for the very first time. **

**She stared blankly at the monster that plagued her childhood - now the bloody man that she'd just killed. Her chest heaved as a sinister grin spread across her face, slowly rising to her feet.**

"**We should get out of here." Happy was worried that the true realization of what she'd just done was only delayed and was soon to come out, and he wanted her to be **_**far **_**away from the crime scene when that happened. **

"**In a minute." She spoke distantly as she stepped toward the mutilated body tied to the chair, dragging her finger through the blood still pouring from his neck.**

"**Sydney. We need to go." **

**She ignored him, walking down the hallway with blood dripping from her finger, the red trail leading into the bathroom where she marked the kill. **

"**What's that?" Happy stood in the doorway, watching her as she finished drawing the bloody crown across the mirror.**

**Sydney looked back at the bald man, seeing the worry in his eyes that she'd only seen a few times throughout her life. She stared at him with a softness behind her eyes, a softness that only came from complete peace. **

"**Who I am now." She nodded.**

Sydney smiled at the memory as she drove back to Charming with a cigarette in her hand. She'd seen her fair share of blood and bodies by then - thanks to Happy - but it was the first time that she had killed, and after that first time? She knew that there would be more, that the outlaw life was the life for her. That day, she branded herself as The Cali Queen, claimed her first victim under a name when she knew that she couldn't use her own - the way her dad had always taught her.

After that first kill, a majority of her reputation and _real_ experience came from Happy; he'd always been glad to share his workload and help her build her portfolio. She loved working alongside her partner in crime - literally, not being limited to SAMDINO where substantial bloodbaths _rarely _occurred, but what she always loved most was that Happy let her work alone - as herself, not as an associate.

She allowed her eyes to tear up as she thought about her family, something she still hadn't done much of since she got to Charming - putting all of her focus on the present and the future, not the past. After her tears dried, a grin spread across her face as she had the bittersweet epiphany that leaving her old life behind both physically and mentally wasn't _just_ because she wanted to dodge heartache. It was because for the first time in her entire life, she was able to earn her way in as _her. _Not as the former VP's daughter, not as Happy's sidekick, not as The Cali Queen, but as Sydney Jade Harding.

Along the way home, Sydney passed a sign advertising the beaches of Anu Nuevo State Park. She smiled, deciding to take advantage of the day and the peace that she'd found as she drove toward the redwood trees that Tig had taken her through on the way to Santa Cruz just over a week ago.

After meandering through the tall trees and parking in the relatively empty parking lot on this Monday afternoon, she typed a quick text to Happy before leaving her phone behind.

**S: Thank you for everything you've done for me… Te amo**

Sydney slipped her shoes off, walking barefoot down the path that led to the beach with a smile on her face. She breathed in the salty ocean air, beaming as the sun shone down on her exposed skin and the waves crashed against the shore.

Finding a secluded, sunny spot, she laid herself down on the ground without a care for the fact that her clothing would be filled with sand after, closing her eyes and tipping her head towards the sky where she slipped into a peaceful trance that quickly turned to sleep under the warmth of the sun.

_Sydney was riding a wave with perfect balance, looking around the tropical location she was surfing in to see everyone she loved; her dad, Happy, Tig. Tig…. With another woman. With his arms around her, with his lips pressed against her neck…_

Sydney's eyes flew open and her body jolted upright, frantically looking around her for the source of her panic before she realized that it was just a dream. "Fuck." She cursed when she realized that she had fallen asleep, noting that the sun was much lower in the sky now than it had been before. "Fuck!" She got to her feet hastily, the uncomfortable dream fading into the back of her mind as she kicked up sand behind her while scurrying back to the car in hopes that nothing had gone askew in the _hopefully_ short time that she had been asleep.

"Fuck!" Sydney cursed again when she picked up her phone, sitting against the hot leather of the black seat with no regard for the fact that it was burning her exposed skin. Her only focus was the screen that displayed multiple missed calls, messages, and a timestamp that indicated that she'd been asleep for nearly four hours.

**Gemma** **3:13 P.M.**

Where the hell are you?

**Tiggy** **2:54 P.M.**

Made it safe. No shoot out this time ;)

I miss that pussy already…

**Missed call** **2:37 P.M.**

Gemma

**Happy Feet ?** **2:12 P.M.**

U too

**Missed call (2)** **12:47 P.M.**

Gemma

She breathed a sigh of relief when the only worrying messages were from Gemma wondering where she was - glad that the Mayans hadn't caused any problems, and even glader that the guys were out of town or else Gemma would've sent out a search party. She scoffed at Happy's reply, sliding her thumb across the screen to plead her case to the queen.

Gemma's eyes darted to the screen of her flip phone when it buzzed with a text message. She'd been on high alert all day, worrying about the safety of her boys after what happened the last time that they tried to cross into Nevada. She shook her head as she read Sydney's message, tossing her phone back onto the desk with a smirk, thinking about what kind of scolding she would give the young girl when they were face to face again.

**Sydney: Sorry Gem, was handling business. I'm fine. And before you worry, Clay knows**

Tig pulled out his phone while Clay pitched the guns to the former Devil's Tribe members, glancing at the screen for what felt like the hundredth time since he'd texted Sydney hours ago, a little discouraged that she hadn't responded. He tucked it back into the pocket of his kutte, deciding not to think too much about it, that Gemma was probably just working her extra hard to pick up the slack with everyone gone for the day.

Sydney had almost made it back home when her phone began vibrating in the seat next to her. She groaned and rolled her eyes, assuming that it was Gemma calling with the inevitable lecture, but she instead saw that it was Tig. She tossed it into the cupholder, deciding that it would be better to talk later when she was at home and Tig was hopefully too drunk to remember any of the questions that he had originally called with.

Tig's brows knit when his call went ignored just like his text had. He decided to call Piney during the lull in business while Jury was discussing the offer - or the ultimatum, rather - with his crew. The old man was around the clubhouse today, he would surely know where Sydney was.

"Yeah." Piney grumbled into the phone as he set his bottle of tequila down on the bartop.

"You know where Syd is?" Tig got right to the point, not having time for pleasantries with the man that he knew wouldn't appreciate them anyways.

"Nah. She uh, raced outta here pretty much right after you guys left."

"What?" Tig barked down the line. "Where the hell'd she go?"

"Didn't say. You know, your old lady doesn't take too kindly to people prying into her shit."

"No… She doesn't." Tig growled as he hung up the phone, grinding his teeth as he pondered the situation before feeling a large hand on his back.

"Everything okay?" Clay asked quietly.

"Syd ran off."

The crease in Clay's forehead deepened when he realized that yet again, Tig's only concern was her. "Ah, I'm sure she's fine brother. Probably off gettin her nails done or shoppin or some shit for when you get back." He raised a brow suggestively. He knew exactly where Sydney had run off to, and the last thing he needed was Tig blowing it up.

"Yeah, yeah you're right brother." Tig pursed his lips and nodded, choosing to obey rather than combat - something he hadn't done enough of lately and knew Clay was picking up on.

Once Sydney was home. she changed into something more comfortable and sat on the couch with a glass of wine, wearily picking up her phone to call Tig. She downed every last drop as the phone rang, beginning to breathe a sigh of relief when it went to voicemail, until she began thinking about _why_ it had gone to voicemail. The gut wrenching thoughts creeping into her mind, wondering if it had begun already.

As soon as Indian Hills accepted the offer, the partying took off. Tig had completely forgotten about his ignored calls and had turned his attention to the flowing alcohol and company of his brothers. He was sitting on a couch next to Rollie - the Vegas President - with a hot brunette on his knee. He ignored her as she fought for his attention, he had no interest in her or what she was offering, but he wasn't used to brushing girls off - especially considering the fact that he'd slept with her at the patch over party only a couple of months ago.

She slid her hand up his chest, smiling at him as she leant into his ear but he stopped her before she could speak. "Hey doll, I'm good." He grabbed her hand, sliding it back down his chest and pushing her away from him gently. "Why don't ya go see about him, hmm?" He patted her thigh, nodding to Juice who stood in the middle of the room looking overwhelmed, likely a combination of the concussion and the influx of women.

The brown eyed girl smiled at the request of the Redwood Sergeant, getting up and strutting over to the Puerto Rican who looked like a lost puppy, offering him some guidance. Tig chuckled as Juice's eyes widened and he followed her towards the back of the clubhouse, turning his attention back to the conversation that he was previously trying to have.

"No pussy tonight? Or just not that one?" Rollie chuckled, raising his brow in question at the nymphomaniac of a man who he'd known to throw tantrums when he _didn't_ get the opportunity that he was currently being hand fed.

"I can barely keep up with the pussy I got at home, brother." Tig scoffed, smirking as he sipped his beer.

"Didn't think you had a limit."

"You haven't met my old lady." He grinned.

"Old lady?" Rollie's eyes nearly popped out of his head when Tig spoke the two words that he never thought he'd hear coming out of the Sergeant's mouth. "Damn brother…" He shook his head.

"Yeah, I know." Tig looked to the ground bashfully. "You talked to her actually, on the phone."

"Ah shit, that one was yours? Sounded young, tight." The blonde haired man smirked slyly.

"You got no idea…" Tig groaned, thinking about Sydney's hot little body, remembering that he was due for some road photos. He pulled out his phone, seeing that all he had from her was one missed call.

"You got pictures?"

Tig raised a brow, sitting frozen for a few seconds before he realized what Rollie meant, his mind too preoccupied at the thought of his phone screen being taken up by explicit photos of her. He dug into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out his wallet where he retrieved the photos of Sydney from the fair.

"I know it aint the kind you were hopin for but…" Tig chortled, handing the strip of photos over to Rollies massive hand.

"You're fucking with me man." Rollie shook his head in bewilderment, slapping Tig in the chest with the photos, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Nah man." Tig grinned and grin of pure gloat as he showed off his trophy of an old lady.

"I see why you wanna keep that one around… Me on the other hand?" The desert dweller stood with a groan and made his way over to one of the sweetbutts that was waving him over from across the room.

Tig chuckled, looking back down at the pictures as he went to tuck them back into the safety of his wallet, getting lost in those eyes like he always did… He pulled out his phone and flipped it open, scrolling through his contacts until he made it to Sydney's name.

"All that new pussy you were excited about, and you're sittin alone?" Clay sat down next to his friend with a playful smile. "Even the prospect's got company." He nodded to the table where Half-Sack sat, talking up a brunette.

"Eh… I think I'd like to keep my balls a little longer." Tig chuckled, quickly sliding his phone and wallet into his pocket.

"You know I can relate to that." Clay held up his beer bottle, clicking it against Tig's in a toast to their badass women. "C'mon, let's go have a drink." He clapped his shoulder, lifting him from the couch.

Sydney's entire plan after her encounter with Laroy was to be so exhausted that she wouldn't be able to do anything but pass out the second that her head hit the pillow, but the stupidity of her beach detour had thrown a wrench in that plan. Instead, she sat in the dark thinking about how stupid she'd been to have let Tig go on a run without having slept with him in almost a week. She'd been so preoccupied with trying to avoid sex in worry that it would lead to spending the night together, that she hadn't even realized the consequences of her careless actions.

Tig stumbled around the Indian Hills clubhouse looking for a suitable place to pass out, tripping over the unconscious partiers that littered the room until he decided that a bathroom would be his best bet. He managed to find a private one in a dorm room where Jax and some blonde were asleep. _Some blonde… Sydney was blonde. _He smiled lazily as he thought about the gorgeous woman that he got to call his. Even in his state of extreme intoxication, he was surprised to find that he was able to have had such a good night without pussy. _No pussy - _the one downside to a relationship. It really hadn't bothered him much - he wasn't _incapable_ of keeping it in his pants, but he always had ten times more fun when he didn't have to, so he was glad to have found that it hadn't affected his ability to enjoy the occasion. _Maybe runs could still be fun..._

He pulled out his phone again, dialing Sydney's number as he curled up in the bathtub, drifting off as the phone rang and eventually went to voicemail.

Sydney was awake when her phone started ringing at the offending hour, _still_ trying to convince herself that she could have slept with him everyday and it wouldn't have changed his desire for road pussy - especially since she _knew_ how men were in this life. Even after the hours of contemplating, she still couldn't help but feel like once again, it was her fault, that she was fucking up everything. She knew how to navigate everything in this life except a relationship.

* * *

**Please keep the questions coming on the story's tumblr page! I'm having fun pretending that I'm Kurt Sutter on his Q&A Tuesdays :/**


	33. Tied Down

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 33: TIED DOWN**

Tig woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and aching body - thanks to the bathtub that he'd chosen as his bed for the night. He groaned as he got up, limping out the door and into the bedroom where Jax and his whore from the night were getting dressed.

"Dude!" Jax hollered, covering his junk when Tig unexpectedly emerged from the bathroom.

"Don't mind me." Tig rasped, passing through the room without a care.

"Was he in there the whole time?" Jax scowled to the blonde who looked just as confused as he did.

Once Tig reached the main area of the clubhouse, he found the sweetbutt who Half-Sack had taken for the night, doling out Advil to the hungover Sons.

"Coffee?" She held up a fresh pot after handing off the pills.

"Please and thanks, doll." Tig smiled, accepting the coffee gratefully as he stood in the absolute pigsty of passed out bikers, naked women, spilled beer, and puke - a scene that _almost_ rivaled one the recent patch over party.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, sighing when he opened it to see no new messages or calls. He missed Sydney, something he found ironic since the thought of an old lady badgering him on a run was something that would've had him bolting only a few short months ago.

He decided he would try her again now that it was morning, but instead he hit the wrong button - taking him to his call log where he saw the listing for phone call from last night at 4:43 A.M.. He scowled, remembering no such call but feeling better knowing that they had talked, even if he couldn't recall what about.

"Good, you're up." Clay called across the room to Tig as he emerged into the daylight in fresh clothes and his sunglasses after a night's sleep in his own room - a perk of being President. "Let's get this shit set up." He demanded his Sergeant's service, walking past him and out the door - Tig snapping his phone shut and following.

Sydney finally managed to fall asleep after the sun came up and once she was out, she was _out_ \- days of sleep deprivation catching up with her and successfully ridding her of any possible dreams. When she finally awoke, it was close to 4:00 P.M., groaning at her derailed sleep schedule as she rolled out of bed, heading downstairs for some much needed coffee and food seeing that the lack of routine had also meant lack of appetite.

After a good meal and sobering cup of coffee, Sydney decided to use the spike in energy to clean around the house - something she'd neglected the last few weeks. She took her time, trying to enjoy the distraction before Tig undoubtedly made his way over.

Tig arrived at the clubhouse with everyone just after 6:00 P.M., the charity ride front having proved itself useful once again as they faced no trouble from the law _or_ the Mayans on the short journey to and from Indian Hills. When he parked his bike, he was surprised to see that Sydney's car wasn't on the lot, and neither was her bike. His forehead creased, trying to remember if she had mentioned anything about not being there to welcome him back, but once again, he drew a blank. He shook his head, chalking it up to beer brain as he headed to his dorm to shower off the ride.

Sydney padded around the house in a pair of fuzzy pink slippers and a thin black tube dress in an attempt to combat the mid-July heat. She lowered the volume on her music when she heard the bike approach, squeezing her eyes shut in a grimace as she felt herself beginning to tremble in nervous anticipation.

Tig walked up the path to her house wearing a blue button up and his usual dark jeans, carrying a bouquet of red roses and a pint of Haagen Dazs cookie dough ice cream. He unlocked the door with his key, a strong waft of lemon scented furniture polish hitting him in the face when he swung it open. He chuckled, realizing that she hadn't answered his calls yesterday because she was busy cleaning.

"Hey babe?" He called, looking around the dark house as he hung up his kutte by the door. He walked down the hallway and into the kitchen to see that all of the lights were off in there too, setting the ice cream and flowers down on the counter before continuing his search.

Sydney panicked when she heard him downstairs but she couldn't make herself face him… She turned on the TV and ran into her closet, trying to play it off like she just didn't hear him while she was putting her laundry away.

"Syd?" Tig entered the bedroom, smiling when he saw her shadow moving around in the closet.

"Hi." She smiled as she poked her head out the door, moving to lean against the doorframe as he entered the room. She felt her insides freeze as he came into the light, daring to stand before her looking _that _perfect after what he'd done on the road.

"Hi beautiful…" Tig slipped into a trance as a lazy smile spread across his face. "Missed ya." He walked over to her slowly, grabbing her waist as he kissed her passionately.

"Mmm, I missed you too." She smiled genuinely before slipping out of his grasp, her smile fading the second that she turned her back to him.

Tig scowled when she walked away from him, once again her actions said one thing but her embrace said something completely different. He ironed out his expression when the obvious conclusion came to him, having completely forgotten that she _was_ a girl and that she must be on her period or some weird girl shit that they were for some reason too embarrassed to talk about, making sense as to why she had been brushing him off the past week.

"You been busy?" He found a distraction, looking around at the room that practically sparkled due to the vigorous cleaning it'd undergone. The last thing he wanted was her thinking that he intended to use her as he pleased, even if that sweet pussy was heavy on his mind...

"Had to keep myself sane somehow." She chuckled, standing by her bedside table where she took off her necklace. "Can only deal with a worried Gemma so long…" She widened her eyes with a sarcastic smile, kicking off her fur covered sandals and pulling the covers back on her bed. "There's leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

"You going to bed?" Tig scowled with his hands on his hips, ignoring her comment about the food. He didn't mind if she was, he was happy to be home with her, plus - a day on the road after a night of partying had really tired him out, he just hadn't expected _her_ to be the tired one.

She shrugged, saying nothing and avoiding his eyes as she made herself comfortable. She _was_ still tired from oversleeping this morning and the lingering overexhaustion, but she'd only climbed into bed because she didn't know what else to do.

"Okay." Tig shrugged, walking over to the side of the bed where he usually slept, beginning to unbutton his shirt.

"You should eat." She tried to stop him.

"Not hungry." He shook his head, stripping down to his boxers and climbing under the covers next to her.

"Okay." She gave up, settling next to him uncomfortably. "How was Nevada?"

"Good." He nodded happily, satisfied with the outcome. "Jury's gonna take one order at forty-five, was able to front us twenty, get the other twenty-five when we drop them off."

"Good." Sydney nodded, wanting business to be the extent of their discussion on the matter.

"Fun party, you would've loved it."

"Bet I would've."

Tig decided by the finality in her tone that maybe it _wasn't_ girl shit, maybe she was jealous that she had to stay behind and do the bitch work while everyone else got to party, but she'd been brushing him off before then?

Sydney had no clue what the ideal outcome of this plan was - she knew that she didn't want him to leave, but she was jittery as hell while he tended to her desires and laid next to her without question.

"What's wrong?" He nodded to her vibrating knee under the blanket.

"Oh nothing, just a little fried." She brushed it off, turning off the TV and laying back in the dim light, staring at the ceiling.

"C'mere." He pulled her into his arms and wrapped her up tight, hoping to calm her down.

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut as the icy chill, followed by warmth ran through her body. She wanted so badly to give in to his comfort, inhale his scent - but she couldn't, not when she knew…

"Wanna tell me what's really wrong?" He whispered. He knew by the way that she tensed rather than relaxed in his arms that she wasn't being honest, and he didn't want her feeling like she couldn't talk to him - no matter what it was about.

"I told you…" She pleaded softly, looking up and silently begging him not to press the issue.

Tig was no match for those puppy dog eyes, especially with her body pressed up against his... He tore his eyes away, willing himself not to think about anything other than _why_ she would be so anxious, or else he would've found himself with an inappropriately timed erection, which he didn't think would do him any favors at the moment...

Time passed and Sydney still laid trembling in Tig's arms, angry that she couldn't gain any kind of control of her over-exhausted body. It wasn't until she recoiled when his crotch rubbed against her thigh, that he realized what was really going on...

"You can ask." He whispered as he stroked her hair.

"I can't." She replied quickly, knowing that she couldn't lie because her dramatically tensed muscles had already given her away.

"I wasn't with anyone in Nevada." He lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"It's okay, I know the rules." She shook her head rapidly, looking back down at his chest. "I just need to get used to-"

"Sydney." He hushed her. "I don't want to be with anyone else." He looked deep into her eyes, hoping to convey that his statement was the complete truth. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind that _this_ was the cause of her worry, just like the thought of cashing in on the run clause hadn't. He had never wanted anybody as bad as he'd wanted her, the idea of throwing that away from some used up road pussy wasn't even fathomable. He had a reputation as a player, sure - when he was a bachelor, but when he committed, he _committed._

"Are you sure?" She knew what it was that she wanted with him, with their relationship - but she also knew that she didn't want to be the kind of old lady who got with a biker and then tried to pull him away from the life.

"Hell yeah I'm sure." He smiled reassuringly. "This pussy tides me over just fine." He winked.

"Okay." She giggled, her discomfort fading easily since a large portion of it was due to the fact that she hated having to be uncomfortable in the first place, but now she had no reason to be.

"I haven't been with anyone since I met you." He clarified, wanting her to know how important she was, and had always been to him. "Except a brunette in a red dress…" He squinted as he recounted the memory.

"Oh yeah?" Sydney grinned playfully when he brought up their roleplay quickie after the Nord/Mayan infiltration. "Was she hot?"

"Smokin." He groaned.

"Hotter than me?" Her voice turned from playful to innocent, something changing behind her eyes...

"Of course not." Tig shook his head, sliding his hands down her body now that she was in a better mood.

She hummed as she slid her hands up his broad chest, turning him onto his back. "Tell me about her." She rasped against his neck, getting on top of him as her eyes wandered towards the nightstand.

Tig's eyes widened when he heard what she was saying, paired with the look she'd had in her eye, second guessing if he was reading her correctly because it seemed almost too good to be true.

"She had big tits…" He started wearily.

"Like mine?" She grabbed his hands - those big, strong hands that she loved so much, gently guiding them up her body until he was palming her tits, his eyes eating her up in the tiny dress while she straddled his chest.

"Yours are nicer, baby." He shook his head, giving them an appreciative squeeze.

"What else?"

"Perfect, round ass." She dragged his hands down around her waist until they were cupping her ass. He teased her sensitive skin under the hemline of the dress before he gave it a good smack - the sound fully hardening him.

She moaned when he spanked her, taking his hands and dragging them down her thighs before pushing them up to gather the dress around her waist, exposing her bare lower half which she ground against his chest as she continued to guide his hands up her body, rolling the dress over her head.

"Nice tight pussy." He licked his lips at the beautiful sight before his glossy blue eyes. His hands were brought down the front of her body where she lifted them slightly as they got lower so that only his fingertips teased her mound.

"I bet her pussy didn't taste like mine."

"Nobody's pussy tastes like yours, Princess." He spoke distantly, his eyes almost popping out of his head when she rose on her knees and brought herself closer and closer to his face before he couldn't take the anticipation any longer, reaching around the back of her thighs and yanking her down to his waiting tongue.

She threw her head back and moaned loudly when his greedy mouth met her sensitive folds, her toes curling in pleasure as she looked down and bit her lip as she watched him eat her out eagerly. She retook one of his hands, trailing it up the front of her body, closing his palm around her breast which he kneaded and massaged while licking her in tandem before she stopped his groping, bringing his hand up to her mouth where she sucked on his fingers, grinding her hips down against his tongue.

He moaned when her movements became more desperate, his erection straining painfully against his boxers while she curled her tongue around his digits. He almost felt _relief _when she pulled his hand out of her mouth and brought it back down to her thigh, but the comfort was short lived as she reached for the other one to do the same. He was so focused on keeping himself under control, gripping her ass hard to keep her in place against his face as a distraction, that he didn't even notice her leaning over to the nightstand.

She increased the volume of her moans, distracting him from the fact that he didn't feel the smoothness of her skin or the warmth of her mouth on his hand, he felt a coldness on his wrist. He ripped his eyes away from hers, peering up to see his wrist cuffed to the bed frame. The _one_ thing that she coincidentally hadn't gotten around to putting away, was the pair of handcuffs sitting on the nightstand that she'd used on Kyle the other day.

Sydney shimmied down his body while he tried to comprehend what was happening, pulling his erection free from the cotton confines. Tig looked at his wrist, then at her with his eyes wide in a combination of shock, fear, and lust.

"But her pussy wasn't as tight as mine." She lowered herself onto him slowly, gritting her teeth so that her moan wouldn't ruin the illusion. "Right Tiggy?"

Tig groaned, his hips involuntarily bucking up into her, having almost forgotten _just_ how tight she really was.

"No." He choked out, squeezing her thigh with his free hand.

She lifted herself up, feeling every inch of him as she did so before sliding back down, freely moaning this time as he filled her completely. "Did she get wet for you, like I do?" She whined as she began a rhythm, leveraging herself on the metal bed frame where his wrist was secured as she rode him.

Tig couldn't answer, responding by squeezing her ass as his hand guided her up and down. He was completely at a loss for words - not only over how good it felt, but over how much he was enjoying it. He'd always been a guy who was open to - and enjoyed - just about anything, but he _always_ preferred being dominant past the point of seduction. There was too much trauma for him not to, plus the nature of his job was obedience - doing what he was told. But this? This had him harder than he'd ever been in his life.

"No." He growled. "But she screamed when I fucked her, like you're about to do." Even if he _did_ enjoy it, he enjoyed the power struggle more - beginning a rhythm of his own as he bent his knees and began pistoning his hips up into her.

Sydney cried out when he changed his angle _and_ pace, the position perfectly hitting the spot inside of her, but she refused to give in, looking into his eyes with a fierce fire in hers.

"You think so?" She grit her teeth as she spoke, trying to keep her voice level.

"Yeah, I do." He leaned up, speaking condescendingly at her before crashing his lips into hers, battling her tongue for dominance.

"I don't." She pulled away with a smirk, getting up off of him.

Tig whimpered involuntarily, opening his mouth to protest when her hand wove into his hair and yanked him down to the pillow. She dove for his lips as she held him in place, pulling at the bottom one aggressively with her teeth before abruptly pulling away and spitting directly into his mouth, her tongue following immediately after.

"Behave." She commanded before she curled her tongue around his again. "Don't make me tie up the other one."

Tig grinned wildly, the little girl was a freak and he couldn't believe how lucky he'd gotten. He watched her make her next move, turning around and swinging her leg over his chest where she leaned over, beginning to tease the tip of his dick with her tongue, groaning when her lips fully wrapped around him. He knew that he would burst any second if he didn't distract himself, so he leaned up, pulling her down to his mouth to keep himself busy in a sixty-nine.

"No…" He felt the warmth of her mouth leave his cock and her foot against his forehead, pushing him down to the pillow. "Stay." She ordered over her shoulder, returning to sucking him off, bringing him to the edge before she crawled down, positioning herself over him from a new angle.

Tig saw it when she got to her knees: the perfect opportunity. He used his free hand to grab her hair in one swift motion, using his legs on either side of her to flip them. Ignoring the stinging in his wrist, he successfully landed her on her stomach, hovering over her and pulling her up by her hair before entering her from behind, snapping his hips against her quick and hard.

Sydney screamed in surprise when she felt the intense pleasure wash over her, not having anticipated his sneak attack at all. She was so turned on by his rough action that she no longer cared about who was winning this game.

"Did you cum inside her like you cum inside me?" She tilted her head all the way back, looking at him with glossy eyes and red cheeks.

"This is the only pussy I wanna fill, baby." He groaned, his grip on her hair getting tighter as he came closer and closer.

"Show me." She whispered with a rasp, spurring him on as she felt herself teetering on the edge.

Tig was almost glad to have his wrist cuffed to the bed because it gave him no choice but to have something to hold on to as he spilled his seed into her after the most intense orgasm hit him like a ton of bricks. His body almost gave out in response, but he refused to stop or even slow his pace until she came - which luckily didn't take long once she felt him hot and pulsing inside of her, looking him in the eye as she came undone.

Once she was taken care of, Tig rolled over onto his side, pulling her with him as he caught his breath. "I hope you didn't change these sheets yet."

"Nah, I knew better." She laughed, looking back at him with a wink, enjoying the comedown before she decided she better get up and uncuff him.

Tig smirked as she unlocked the handcuffs, pulling his wrist free and rubbing it. "We should just leave those there…"

"You like being chained up, Sergeant?" She smirked, retreating when he raised a brow warningly. "Or do you wanna chain me up?" She whispered in his ear before pulling away.

"Baby, you got no fuckin idea…" His eyes roamed over her body, bare and marked from where his hands had been.

She bit her lip, leaving the cuffs hanging as she returned to her side of the bed where she curled up next to him and closed her eyes, enjoying the closeness and comfortability that the last couple of weeks had lacked. That was until...

Tig had been lulled to sleep quickly by her soft breathing and warm body, exhausted from not only the road and the sex, but also from the emotional toll and horrible night's sleep he'd had in the bathtub.

"Are you going to sleep?" He heard, cracking his eyes open to see her looking up at him worriedly.

"Rode all day…" He explained.

"Okay…" She nodded, watching as he closed his eyes and dozed back off. She knew that she couldn't avoid it forever, but she wasn't ready to deal with it happening again.

Tig felt her getting up off of the bed softly in his light slumber, pulling on her dress and tiptoeing out the door. He frowned, feeling a pinch in his heart when she left him in bed alone, wondering what it was that he'd done to make her so afraid of being near him. _Afraid. _That was it. It finally made sense: she was afraid to sleep next to him. Santa Cruz, the nightmare…

He pulled on his boxers, following her downstairs. It was dark outside now, so the house had virtually no light except for the overhead light on the stove that shone from the kitchen. Before Tig could get down the stairs, he realized that Sydney was sitting at the bottom of them with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Baby…" His voice almost cracked at the sad sight: her sitting in the dark, alone and scared because of him.

He crouched down next to her, reaching for her hand that he squeezed in his while she continued to look in the opposite direction. "Did I really scare you that bad?" He whispered in horror.

"No." She answered quickly, his assumption making her heart sting. "Not at all." She turned to face him, the little light that there was bounced off of the tears in her eyes. "I think I scared you…" She whispered sadly.

"No." Tig shook his head rapidly, holding her face in his hand as tears pricked at his own eyes. "No it's not like that." He looked down at the carpeted stairs, trying to find the right words. "You do the opposite." He nodded, looking into her eyes. "That dream… That dream was brought on because of how happy you make me. It was a memory, not a nightmare. Old shit that I push away… Hasn't come out because I haven't felt anything close to that, until I met you." He managed to speak vaguely on the subject without feeling like his heart was being ripped out. "I used to wake up from dreams every night, but now I sleep better because of you. That's why I've been drinking… I'm scared to sleep without you."

Sydney nodded, accepting what he was saying as the sad explanation pulled even harder on her heartstrings, realizing that they had both been suffering so unnecessarily because of their lack of communication.

"I'm sorry…" She sniffled, her voice strained from holding back tears.

"Don't be sorry, angel." He shook his head, bringing her into his lap where he hugged her and rocked back and forth.

A few loose tears trickled down her face as he rubbed her back, she begrudgingly allowed herself to release her emotions as she squeezed him tight. "I love you." She pulled away with wet cheeks, running her hand over his cheekbone.

"I love you too." He nodded, taking her hand in his and kissing her fingers. "Stay here." He nodded to her before heading back upstairs, returning with an armful of pillows and blankets, leading her to the living room where he intended to make them a comfy bed on the couch - he knew that he was going to fall asleep before her, and he didn't want her to be alone in the dark while he did so.

"What's this?" Sydney asked behind him with a grin, standing at the island in the kitchen where Tig had completely forgotten about the gifts he'd brought for her.

"Oh." He blushed, dropping the bedding on the coffee table and walking over to her. "I don't know, I just…" He stumbled his words as he looked to the floor bashfully.

"If this doesn't say 'I feel bad for fucking a road whore' then I don't know what does." She smirked.

Tig laughed, his anxiety easing when she made light of the unfamiliar situation, wrapping his arm around his waist and kissing her cheek.

"I guess I should've remembered to put that in the freezer…" He grimaced at the tub of surely melted ice cream.

"It's okay, you know I like it melted." She shrugged, smiling as she popped the top off and tilted the carton towards her lips as she walked towards the couch, setting it down and picking up a blanket before she felt her feet being swept from under her, squealing as Tig tossed her onto the loveseat.

"Stay there, I got it." He laughed.

Sydney smiled challengingly with a raised brow, crossing her legs and watching Tig in amusement until she got bored, taking it upon herself to swipe the TV remote and choose something to watch before he could put on another awful war movie.

"Acceptable?" Tig asked once he completed the inviting display of pillows and blankets.

"Hmmm…" She squinted, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Go sit down." She nodded. Tig was confused but did as he was told, making himself comfortable on his side with his back against the seatback, leaving room for her in front of him.

"Now it is." She smirked, hopping up and bounding over to where he laid waiting for her. "Is this movie acceptable?"

Tig looked to the TV to see some horror movie that he didn't recognize - but he didn't care, all he could focus on was her. He nodded, his eyes flicking down to her lips as she laid on her back. He wrapped his hand around her throat, holding her in place gently as he kissed her slowly.

Sydney felt her entire body melt and tingle when he kissed her the way that he did, pressing her body against his and bringing her hands to his face as she kissed back just as passionately. His hands roamed her body appreciatively, his lips moving to her neck and down her chest where he placed gentle kisses, pulling her dress down where he licked at her hard nipples, enjoying the sensual aspect of the slow movements.

"Slow?" He whispered as he sat up, wiggling her out of her dress and pulling his boxers down, lifting her body to press against his once they were both naked.

"Please." She nodded, looking at him with need.

He nodded, leaning down where he lightly sucked the skin behind her ear, bringing her hands above her head as he moved to tease her nipples, sucking lightly.

Sydney moaned and writhed under his gentle minustrations, addicted to the feeling of his mouth on her in such a different way than she was used to, the anticipation bringing her senses to an all time high.

"You like it slow, baby?"

"Yes, Alex." She whined with her eyes closed.

Tig's eyes rolled back when the name slipped from her lips, never knowing that the pussy identifier he'd been burdened with could sound so good.

Sydney looked up at him when he didn't say anything, worried that she had ruined the moment by using the forbidden title, but she instead saw his eyes hooded with pure lust.

"Say it again." He rasped, inches from her lips.

"Yes, Alex." She spoke into his mouth before his lips came back down on hers, his tongue claiming her mouth as he lined himself up with her wetness and pushed into her slow enough that it made _him_ antsy.

"Oh god…" She choked out when he filled her slowly, beginning an agonizing pace that let her feel every single inch of him as he slid in and out of her.

"You feel so fucking good, doll." He sucked the shell of her ear as he fucked her deep and slow.

"So do you." She nodded, pulling him to her lips where she moaned into his mouth. "I love you." She whimpered mercifully during the passionate love making, her emotions still running high.

"I love you too, baby." He nodded, weaving his fingers through her hair and kissing her deeply as he continued his movements.

"I'm gonna cum…" She whined a few minutes later, focusing on the feeling rather than _her_ feelings, her eyes rolling back with each time that he bottomed out.

"Cum baby, cum for me." He urged, attaching his lips to her jaw.

She let go at his command, gripping the soft curls at the back of his neck as her walls pulsed around him deep inside of her. He continued his strokes, slow and deep, revelling in her soft moaning until he came, stilling himself inside of her as he came down for the second time. _Now_ he was truly exhausted.

Sydney laid in Tig's arms inhaling his intoxicating scent that'd she missed far too much, both of them close to sleep and not paying attention to the movie - thoroughly lost in each other.

"You know, I never got my pictures…" He looked down at her with a raised brow.

"I didn't know you were serious with that shit phone." She scoffed with a playful smile.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with my phone, okay? I can see everything that I need to see." He shook his head with a grin.

"I'll make sure you get some next time." She chuckled, clutching onto his arm and drifting into the first peaceful night's sleep that she'd had in days.

* * *

**Tag yourself, I'm Tig trying to mansplain everything to himself. I hope that you all missed the good old fashioned TigxSyd smut as much as I missed writing it 😍**


	34. Interruptions

**SO sorry for the long wait, anxiety and writer's block got the best of me :(**

**aravenamongcrows on tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 34: INTERRUPTIONS**

Tig woke up the next morning after a peaceful night's sleep with a smile on his face before he even opened his eyes. His heavy lids lifted slowly, squinting in the bright sunlight that poured into the living room. He laid still for a few minutes before kissing Sydney's temple, scooping her up and bringing her upstairs where he tucked her into bed.

"Don't go." She whined, her arms tightening around his shoulders to keep him in place when he tried to straighten up.

"Didn't know you were awake." He chuckled into her hair as he hugged her back, thinking back to the last time that they'd been in this position - at Bobby's wedding when she was begging him to stay in bed with her. He wasn't going to pass up that opportunity a second time.

"I'm not." She murmured with her eyes closed.

"I'm right here, baby." He nodded, laying down and maneuvering her head to rest on his chest, rubbing his thumb over her arm as he laid still for the next hour while she slept.

"You gonna let me get up now?" Sydney felt Tig's lips against her neck as he rolled her onto her back.

"No." She smiled sleepily, running her nails lightly across his shoulder blades as he chuckled.

"I'll be back, you don't have to get up." He kissed her on the cheek before lifting himself up.

Sydney took a deep, cleansing breath as she smiled, wrapping herself up in the blankets while she revelled in the comfort of normality before deciding to fully wake up when she heard pots and pans clanging downstairs. She mustered up enough strength to get herself out of bed and into the bathroom before pulling on a silk robe and heading to seek out the source of the ruckus - rounding the corner to see Tig, shirtless, and frying up bacon.

"Thought you said you were comin back?" She leant against the wall with a grin as she took in the dreamy sight of him cooking breakfast half naked.

Tig spun around when he heard her voice, staring at her with wide eyes as if he'd just been caught committing a crime. "Well I would've if you stayed asleep like you were supposed to."

"Now we're even." She smirked as her eyes slid over him lewdly. "C'mere…" She bit her lip, gesturing for him with a crooked finger and a dirty grin.

"I'm slaving away making you breakfast and you gotta come down here and distract me? C'mon doll, that aint fair to your old man." He ranted as he walked over to her with his arms held out expectantly.

"It is working?" She smirked when he reached her, draping her arms over his shoulders and tiptoeing where she tilted her lips towards his.

He scoffed, looking away from those innocent eyes as he placed his hands on her hips. "Maybe." He cocked his head, glancing back down at her as she grinned, giving in and leaning down to kiss her.

Sydney deepened the kiss instantly, not allowing him any time to pull away before she opened her mouth, teasing his tongue with hers - smiling as she felt his hands tightening around her body to hold her close.

"C'mon babe…" He pleaded weakly, unable to hide the growl from his voice - or his growing erection against her abdomen.

"I'm making things easy for you, baby." She whispered into his mouth with a pout in her voice, licking at his lips.

"No." He pulled her hand to his crotch where she felt him rock hard beneath the denim. "I promise you're making it _very_ hard for me." He narrowed his eyes.

"You want me to stop?"

"I want you to eat." He pulled away, returning to the stove where he began plating up the food.

"I'll eat, after you eat." She hopped up onto the kitchen island, spreading her legs with a smirk.

Tig felt his eyes drawn to her by a magnetic force, his pupils dilating when he turned and saw that she was bare under her robe. He grumbled as he felt his body being pulled towards her as if he had no control, dropping the spatula and sinking to his knees on the ground in front of her where he wrapped his arms under her thighs, yanking her to the edge of the marble surface so that she was practically sitting on his shoulders.

"This what you wanted?" He taunted with his lips just a hair away from where she desired, lightly blowing against her clit as he spoke.

"Yes." She replied shakily as her head rolled back in anticipation.

He smirked, flattening his tongue over her clit and licking a long, tantalizing stripe through her folds, holding her quivering thighs tight against his skin. He repeated the same action a few times, listening to her laboured breathing before finally wrapping his lips around her clit and sucking harshly.

Sydney squealed when he finally began eating her out with the enthusiasm that she knew and loved, bracing herself against the counter as she arched her back while he brought her still hazy body close quickly. She straightened up so that she could look down into his eyes as his mouth worked her expertly. The erotic sight had the desired effect as her body started to pulsate, but the pleasure wave she'd been riding quickly crashed, her orgasm subsiding and fading to nothing. She opened her eyes in confusion as a chill spread through her, combating the previous heat she'd felt.

"You can cum after you eat." He stated from where he now stood above her.

Sydney's face flushed when she realized what he'd done. She raised a brow and bit her lip once she caught her breath, his assertion of dominance turning her on too much to be able to think about challenging him.

"Now go sit down." He growled playfully through gritted teeth and pointed to the table as she stood before him, teasing him the way she knew he liked.

"Yes sir." She cooed, her eyes lingering on him as she turned and sashayed towards the table, sitting down and crossing her legs, ignoring the wetness between them.

Tig nodded when she obeyed him - something that rarely occurred these days - before walking over with the plates and setting them down, taking his seat across from her with the vase of roses between them.

"You're not gonna poison me, are you?" She carefully examined her scrambled eggs before taking a weary bite, dropping the facade when she grinned around her fork.

"Damn." Tig slumped back in his chair with a grimace. "No faith." He shook his head with his hand over his heart.

"If you made me a good breakfast _and_ finished me off, I might have _too much_ faith." She smirked, chomping down on a strip of bacon.

"Can't let ya get bored if I get too soft." He winked as he set his coffee mug down.

"You're right…" She rasped, her foot dragging along the rug under the table as she looked down at her plate coyly. She creeped her foot up his chair before she pressed it against the inside of his thigh, dragging it towards the still prominent bulge in his pants. "I like you _much_ better hard." She looked up at him deviously through her eyelashes.

"You done eating yet?" He nodded to her half-empty plate.

"No." She replied casually as she straightened up, pulling her foot away quickly and turning her attention back to the remainder of her food.

Tig clenched his jaw when he saw what she was doing: flipping the script and using his own game against him. "Come here." He stood, pushing his chair back aggressively as the ear piercing sound of the wood screeching against the freshly polished floors filled the room.

Sydney smirked, standing from her chair and slowly making her way around the table to where Tig was pointing on the floor in front of him, whimpering in surprise when he harshly jerked her towards him by her biceps.

"Greedy little girl." He spoke animalistically with his jaw clenched.

"I just want you, Sergeant…" She pleaded with glossy eyes. "Your strong hands." Her hands trailed down his forearms, reaching towards his chest. "Your mouth." She leant in towards his neck, nipping at her favorite vein. "Your big cock…" She looked up at him as she sank to her knees, dragging her hands down his soft chest towards his belt buckle.

Tig gave in - he'd missed that pussy too much to try and stay within his role. He pushed everything on the table out of the way while she unzipped his pants, lifting her by her elbows and setting her onto the wooden surface before pulling his chair back in front of her and sitting down as he spread her legs.

Sydney grinned in excitement when he cracked, laying back so that he could get to work - which he wasted no time in doing - twirling his tongue around her clit eagerly, no teasing like he'd done previously. She moaned freely - figuring it was the least that she could do to thank him for his efforts at the moment, which doubled in spurring him on as he flicked his tongue faster and held her down as her legs started to shake.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Sydney heard a displeased voice behind them, tilting her head all the way back against the table to see Clay standing before the scene with a deep scowl - her orgasm once again being stopped dead in it's tracks.

"Havin breakfast, what does it look like?" Tig whined, peering up from his position between her legs.

"What kind of sick shit did your mama's do to you?" Clay shook his head with a grimace as Sydney laid barely covered by the tiny black robe, both of them looking at their President like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar - literally.

"What'dya mean?" The pair asked in unison with their brows knit.

Clay didn't say anything, staring at them blankly, unsure of where he would start even if he wanted to answer that question.

"How'd you get in here?" Sydney's smile of amusement faded and was replaced by a creased brow when she realized that he'd shown up uninvited.

"Uh, door was unlocked." He finally averted his eyes after the horny couple not only made no effort to conceal what they were doing, but now didn't bother to move from their position. "Have to make house calls now." He rubbed his forehead uncomfortably. "Since neither of you answer your damn phones." Sydney looked down at Tig nervously, who mimicked her expression of worry.

"Sorry man… Had an early night." Tig tried to explain, finally standing from his chair.

"I'm sure you did." Clay nodded sarcastically, trailing his eyes down to Tig's obvious erection. "Go get dressed, Jax'll be back from the peckerwoods soon." Tig nodded curtly, stalking down the hallway and up the stairs to ready himself for the day.

Clay turned his attention to Sydney once they were alone. "You handle things with Laroy?" He raised a brow, revealing the _real_ reason he'd come by before church after being unable to get ahold of her.

"What?" She feigned confusion.

His face dropped when she had no idea what he was talking about, realizing that he may have had a little _too much_ faith in the young girl when he'd silently tasked her with convincing the Niners leader to reconsider his purchase plans.

"I'm just fucking with you." She dropped her facade and began laughing when worry plastered itself all over the man's face.

Clay forced a chuckle, not even wanting to think about what was to come from Sydney and Tig today if he'd already had _more _than enough of their antics and it was barely 9:00 A.M..

"You got out alive, so I'm assuming it went alright?"

"Damn Pres." She shook her head. "You were just ready to throw me to the wolves, huh?"

"Sydney, I'm tired." He groaned when she continued her vexing, building the suspense as she dodged his questions.

"You really _are_ an old man." She scoffed. "Laroy's gonna take his original two for fifty, the rest as usual."

Clay smiled for the first time that morning when she pulled through with not only the cash, but the partnership that they needed. "You must've sucked his dick _real_ good." He laughed, knowing how difficult of a man Laroy was.

"My specialty." She smiled playfully. "You almost got to see, actually." She referred to the encounter he'd walked in on.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, not wanting a reminder. "I'll owe Tig for that one." He scoffed.

"Now that I've told you the good news…" She watched his face fall once again before she looked to the ground. "He only wants to deal with me from now on…" She swayed nervously, peeking up to gauge his reaction.

"Well." He cocked his head. "I guess I better keep you happy then." He surmised with a grin.

"I guess so." Sydney smirked, relieved that he wasn't angry with her.

"You want this to be public knowledge, or?" He glanced down the hallway, nodding up the stairs.

"I don't give a shit what he thinks." She scoffed.

"That's my girl." Clay nodded approvingly with a wink. "I'll see you at the table, _quickly." _He narrowed his eyes in mock warning before taking his leave.

Sydney chuckled before quickly clearing the table and heading upstairs, not wanting to get in shit for being absent _and _late.

Jax had finished tying the knot on the loose end with Piney and Opie, successfully baiting the stupid rednecks into hauling sacks of explosives to their survival bunker instead of the AK's that they'd paid the measly $10k for. The VP breathed a sigh of relief as he rode away from the scene, inhaling the scent of smoke from the explosion out in the remote location. This was one of the few times where he felt satisfaction rather than guilt after ending a life, maybe it was because _he _had called the shots, not Clay.

High on his win, he decided to take a detour and stop at the hospital to see Tara to hopefully figure out what the fuck Sydney had been talking about - if she had even been telling him the truth. He sent Clay a text to delay church, figuring that his successful morning had earned him some lenience.

"Where'd Clay go?" Tig questioned when Sydney returned upstairs, poking his head out the bathroom door as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Back to the clubhouse, waiting on us for church." She stated pointedly as she scurried around the room to make herself look presentable in a timely fashion.

"Didn't wanna ride with us?" His brows wrinkled.

"Got what he came for, I guess." She shrugged as she stood in front of her dresser and dropped her robe, biting the inside of her cheek to contain the smirk forming on her face when lust overtook Tig's expression immediately. "Which is more than I can say." She scoffed before disappearing into her closet.

"Hey!" Tig feigned offence, following her into the small room as she chose her clothes for the day. "That aint fair." He shook his head, stalking up to her and backing her against the wall by the door.

"It's okay… You're just too busy for me." She pouted, dragging her fingers over his chest.

"The only thing I have to do is take care of my Princess." He husked as he looked down at her with a depth in his eyes, pressing himself against her naked body.

Sydney let her eyes slide over him before they landed on his chest as she gripped his leather covered shoulder. "I think that flash says differently." She pulled him down to her lips by the back of his neck, kissing him deeply. "Sergeant." She winked as she pulled away, turning and walking to the bathroom, smirking over her shoulder before kicking the door shut.

Tig ground his teeth with his hands on his hips as he listened to the door slam, getting started on making her bed as he waited for her to finish.

Sydney quickly dressed herself for the day in a tight, white tank top that buttoned at the front, and a pair of light denim shorts, leaving her hair down in her signature loose curls that had held up nicely throughout the night - despite Tig's efforts. She bounded out of the bathroom and over to her vanity where she sat on the cushioned bench-style seat, quickly applying some light makeup.

Tig finished making the bed before sitting down in silence and watching her brush shiny powder on her cheeks. He stood when he saw her reaching for her lip gloss, stopping her before she could bring the goopy wand to her lips.

She peered up at him through her lashes in the reflection of the mirror, seeing him standing over her with authority as he guided her hand back to the desktop where she dropped the tube. He moved his hand to her throat, lightly dragging his fingers over her soft skin. She tilted her head back tentatively under the gentle pressure, looking up at him innocently as she turned in her chair so that she was facing him before he descended his lips on hers, claiming her mouth with his tongue and guiding her up out of the chair by the grip on her throat, pushing her to sit on the bed with his lips never leaving hers.

"We're gonna get in trouble…" She warned with a smirk.

"The only trouble you need to worry about, is the trouble you're gonna be in if you don't take my cock right now."

Sydney's face flushed when the brash statement hit her tongue, feeling her insides tingling as her breathing picked up, not realizing how much she'd missed his dirty talk…

"What kind of trouble, Sergeant?" She laid back on her elbows, her wicked expression taunting him.

Tig growled, grabbing her elbow and flipping her onto her stomach where he pulled her hands behind her back.

"The kind of trouble that'll have you screaming my name and begging me to stop."

Sydney was glad that he'd pinned her down, or else he would've seen her eyes rolling back when he spoke his command into her ear. "Can I have both?" She shivered, goosebumps breaking out across her tanned skin, ready to do whatever he wanted and ready to do it happily.

Unbeknownst to Sydney, Tig was glad that she wasn't able to see him for the same reason as a grin spread across his face. He brought his hand down swiftly across her denim clad ass cheek, the loud thud echoing in the room before her gasp followed.

"I told you that you were a greedy girl."

"Only for you." She moaned, wishing that she had waited to get dressed.

"That's right baby." He nodded as he worked his fingers under her waistband at her sides, beginning to tug the tight, revealing bottoms off of her.

Sydney's head snapped up when Tig's phone began ringing on the nightstand, smirking when her point was proven. Tig stared begrudgingly at the offending device, _strongly_ debating ignoring it - but he knew that the ice he'd been walking on with Clay was thinning.

He growled, getting up off of her and stalking over to the small table where he plucked the phone off of the glossy surface. "We're on our way." He spoke down the line with a bite in his tone, snapping it shut before Clay could chew him out.

"And you say that _I_ need to be careful about crossing Clay…" Sydney scoffed as she got up from the bed.

Clay sat in the chapel alone, shaking his head as he squeezed his burner in his unrelenting grasp before whipping it across the room where it bounced off of the wall safe. Both Tig _and_ Jax had skipped out on their duties this morning to bury themselves in pussy.

"D'you think we're gonna be running today?" Sydney mused as she scanned her shoe selection.

"Nah, but you're gonna be riding." Tig swiped her keys from her hand and tossed them onto the short table by the door. "You're with me." He nodded out the door.

Sydney bit her lip with a grin as she watched him leave, thoroughly enjoying the dominance that his frustration provoked. She laced up her black mules from the day prior and headed out the door after him.

Tig pulled onto the compound with Sydney on the back of his bike, parking in his spot among the crowded rail - proving that church really _had_ been waiting on their arrival.

"Maybe we'll be off the hook after all…" Sydney spoke as she removed her helmet, looking to the front gate where Jax rode in.

The blonde man parked his bike, nodding his greeting to the Sergeant who was glaring him down. "Hey." He spoke as he dismounted his bike, hoping that Tig was just _being Tig_ and would be reminded of his place in the presence of his superior.

Tig didn't move. He'd been able to park his need for revenge the last few days, for Sydney's sake - but being in Jax's presence with her by his side and nothing in the way to distract him had him wrestling with his conscience.

Sydney could feel the air around them getting thicker and thicker, stepping forward to stand in front of Tig in hopes of cutting some of the tension.

"Can we talk?" Jax asked her, his eyes flicking up to Tig's to gauge his reaction.

"Yeah-" Sydney was cut off by Tig moving her out of the way, walking up on Jax where he stopped only inches from his face.

"You know?" He cocked his head. "I don't know about that Jax."

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She _knew _he was trying, if he hadn't been - Jax would've been on his back right now. She stepped forward again, pressing her hand against Tig's chest and guiding him to face her.

"It's okay Tiggy." She looked into the raging fire behind his eyes pleadingly, her gaze shifting to Jax who was watching wearily. "Go inside, tell Clay we'll be right in. He'll understand." She held the sides of his neck as she nodded her assurance, keeping his focus on _her_ and not on the man that he wanted to pummel. "Okay?" She prodded when he didn't respond, narrowing her eyes before kissing him.

"Yeah." Tig pulled away, covering her hand with his to let her know that his cold reaction was not directed at her. "Okay." He spoke as he pulled away, his gaze lingering on Jax before he fully turned himself away.

Jax watched the dark haired man with a faint smile of amusement, finally speaking once he was out of earshot. "You must whip him real good if he's listening to you like that."

"He listens to Clay." She pointed out.

"Yeah, that's my point." He looked at her as his smirk grew.

Sydney let herself laugh at his clever joke but the awkward silence quickly set in once she stopped.

"So you told him what happened?" Jax asked with a grimace, recounting the incident regretfully.

"Bits and pieces." She answered vaguely.

"Thought you said that secrets were a burden?" He sparked up a cigarette as he leant against the metal railing.

"I said that _your_ secrets were a burden." She scoffed.

"Fair enough… So I guess I should expect a beatdown for that sometime, huh?"

"Did you really think I was gonna let you get away with it?" She raised a brow.

"Nah, guess not." He chuckled lightly, looking to the ground as the guilt stung in his chest. "I'm sorry." He looked up into her eyes, wanting her to know how sincere he was. "That was wrong." He nodded to the spot on her chest where his mark had faded away.

"Eh." Sydney shrugged, looking down at her red toenails with a small smile. "It's the only thing that you've done to show me that maybe you _are_ an outlaw." She nudged him with a smirk.

Jax chuckled, glad that she didn't seem nearly as affected by what he'd done, as he was. "I uh, I talked to Tara." He recounted the emotional conversation he'd had with her this morning when she'd reluctantly told him the truth. "Why did you tell me?" He hoped for a sincere answer, having had no luck with any of the conclusions he'd tried to draw on why she would help him after the way he had treated her.

"I didn't do it for you, if that's what you mean." Her words were razor sharp as the encounter took a more serious turn.

"I know." He nodded. "So why did you?"

"Her being close to you is what made Kohn follow you to the old warehouse and to Nevada." She explained. "The closer she gets without you doing something about him, the harder he's going to come at the club to try and scare her away."

"So you really did this for the club?"

"The golden fucking question." She smiled sarcastically as she shook her head and exhaled. "Yes, I did." She snapped.

She understood why they had been skeptical in the beginning, but after nearly two months and countless acts of service, she thought that by now she would be past the point of trying to convince them of her motives.

"Okay." Jax accepted her statement. "So what do you think I should do about it?"

"Oh, so _now_ my opinion matters?" She snarked playfully.

"I never said you weren't smart. You're way smarter than I am." He admitted.

"Well, I know _that_." She drawled with a smirk. "I think you should tell Hale." She decided after a minute of running through the best way to handle the situation - even if it was quite the opposite of what her first instinct had been.

"You want me to talk to the cops?" He tilted his head as his face wrinkled in confusion.

"I want you to do this the right way, so that there's no way it'll land on the club." She clarified. "You tell Clay right now that a personal issue could affect us? It won't go well. Hale knows and cares, I think you should tell him."

"Wait, Hale knows?" The plot seemed to get thicker and thicker.

"Not directly, he doesn't know it's Kohn." She corrected, putting his suspicions to bed. "But if you tell him that it is, he will understand." She nodded reassuringly.

"Okay, I'll talk to him." He nodded, dropping his cigarette butt to the asphalt. "Now let's get in there before my ass aint the only one catching a beating." He smiled, draping his arm around her shoulders as they waltzed into the clubhouse.

"Sorry." Jax apologized for both himself and Sydney as they entered the chapel to the full table waiting on them.

"Ah, the reaper royalty has finally decided to grace us with their presence." Clay mused as the two blondes took their seats.

"A queen is never late." Sydney stated with a smirk, giving a small nod to Clay to let him know that she and Jax had worked their shit out.

"I've had a long morning." Clay groaned, rubbing his eyes while Sydney and Tig shared a knowing glance. "I wanna make this quick. Jury and his crew agreed to take one order, $45k. I want you and Juice driving them up Monday afternoon, blend the truck in with regular traffic." He looked to Tig.

"Aight, we're gonna need somethin big though." Tig nodded his approval.

'I'll call Unser." Clay was overdue in speaking to the Chief anyways, figuring his old friend was once again in his debt… "Speaking of cops, run that $10k up to Trammel, let him know Nate's been taken care of." He nodded to Jax.

"So, where are we at with the Irish?" Juice questioned.

"Only ten short." Clay spoke with a smile.

"How's that work?" Bobby questioned his President's math because according to the treasurer, they only had $140k.

"Laroy's gonna take his two orders for fifty." Sydney announced with a smirk.

Tig whipped his head to the right, then back to Clay for confirmation - but his President's smirk told him all that he needed to know.

"How'd you manage that?" Jax nodded with a smug smile when she revealed that she'd convinced the man even after they'd told her that it was too dangerous to try.

"The same way I manage everything." She mused theatrically. "With my tits out and a gun in his face."

"And that aint gonna blow back on us?"

"I guess we'll have to find out." She responded with a snip in her tone when he questioned her thought process, even after the talk they'd just had.

"Juice, call Laroy and set it up." Clay intervened, hoping to keep the peace between them long enough for his headache to subside. "I want you, and you getting all those guns ready." He pointed between Chibs and Tig, making a point to separate him for Sydney for the day. "Take the prospect."

"Got it." Tig nodded, tapping the tabletop in confirmation before he stood from his chair and hastily made his way out to his bike, avoiding Sydney's smug little smirk as he did so, _now_ understanding where it was that she'd ran off to yesterday.


	35. TKO

**We can attribute this ENTIRE chapter to '365 Days'… Thank you Laura and Massimo :/ **

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 35: TKO**

"You sneaky little gash." Tig growled as he stalked into the office. His frustration over the day's events had only grown while he took on the mundane task of packing crates full with guns all morning.

Sydney raised a brow in amusement when Tig came barrelling through the door, slamming it behind him. "You knew I was going." She replied smugly, dropping her pen and sitting back in her chair as he rounded the desk.

"Bullshit I knew you were going!" The overwhelming combination of stress points had made his actions towards her a little harsher than he'd originally intended, but the smirk on her face told him that she didn't mind.

"Clay told me to handle it." She replied easily with a shrug.

"You think that's how it works? You can just bend the rules and go behind my back?" He placed his hands on the armrests of the leather chair and hovered over her threateningly.

"Well I did." She got to her feet. "And now we're $50k richer because of it." She spoke the words into his mouth, cocking her head with a smirk.

Tig ground his teeth, looking down at her as she stood toe to toe with him, pressing her tits against his heaving chest. People were usually scared of the Sergeant at Arms, seldom would they even _think_ about disobeying his orders, but she challenged him without a drop of fear - _and he liked it_.

"And how'd we get that way? Huh? Cause you walked in there looking like a little slut, flashing your tits and that pretty smile to get your way?" He took a step forward, his chest bumping her backwards until he had her cornered against the tall filing cabinets behind her desk.

"You mean like I do to you?" She tilted her head, ignoring the fact that she could hardly breathe with how hard his chest was pressing her into the metal wall.

"Yeah, exactly like you do to me." He nodded, speaking in the raspy, condescending voice that had her quivering between her legs. "You suck his cock too? Wear that tight little outfit for him? Huh?" He tugged at her shirt.

"Are you jealous Tiggy?" She mock-pouted as she arched her back as much as possible in her predicament, sliding her body up his and reaching to drape her arms over his shoulders before she was stopped abruptly by his hand gripping her throat, pushing her head back against the wall with full force.

"This stops now." His mouth absorbed her gasp before he spoke the order with his voice low and dark, just above a whisper as his flame engulfed eyes consumed her. "No more of your little games. You are mine, and only mine. You do as I say, when I say it."

"Is that so?" She stared at him _hard_, a direct contrast to the way that her soft hands gently stroked up his arm where he held her in place bruisingly, effectively distracting him as she pushed back against his grip and tilted her head towards his lips. "I can't let you forget who you fell in love with." She leaned in further. "You might get bored." She recited the excuse with her lips against his ear before pulling away with a smirk.

"I didn't forget who I fell in love with-" Tig growled, ripping himself out of her grasp and stomping to the door that led to the garage.

"Lunch! Now. Go!" He barked to the mechanics, pointing out the bay doors before slamming the second office door shut, stalking back over to Sydney who stood with red cheeks, wondering if maybe she'd bit off more than she could fit in her mouth...

"-But I think you have." He pushed her back against the filing cabinets, his hands cupping her jaw as he completed his statement, tilting her head back as he dove for her neck, biting down and sucking harshly before finally pulling away to reveal a dark hickey that was sure not to fade for a good while - which was exactly what he wanted.

Sydney squeaked when he assaulted her neck, knowing now by the intense sting of the bite that she'd pushed him past his breaking point. She didn't even get a chance to see his face before she was quickly spun around and slammed back against the cabinet, panting heavily as she felt him yanking her bottoms down.

"This is the _last_ time that getting me mad will make you wet." He scoffed warningly as he tested her entrance, slicking himself in her abundant arousal before harshly snapping his hips forward.

Sydney stood frozen with her burning hot face against the cold metal when he pushed inside of her, giving her a feeling she'd never experienced before. The head-spinning combination of pain, pleasure, desire, and fear had knocked the air clean out of her lungs - a sound escaping her that was a cross between a gasp, a scream, and a cry.

"Now _those_-" He pulled her head back to look at him, gripping her chin with her cheeks squished between his fingers. "Are the sounds that you _should_ make for your old man." He stared at her with expectant eyes, giving another punishing thrust when she stayed silent, which pushed the same foreign sound through her tightly sealed lips.

"That's better." He coaxed, beginning a rhythm that started a medley of dick-tingling, hiccuped screams while he held her head in place.

He watched her slowly begin to break down, shoving her face back against the wall when she tried to use those seductive bedroom eyes to her advantage. He soon felt her walls starting to constrict around him, pulling out and turning her to face him, smiling wickedly when he watched her cheeks flush bright red. He softened his movements, trailing his hands lightly down her arms from where they'd been harshly gripping her biceps, and easing up on the pressure that his body was exerting against her chest.

"Do you love me, Alexander?" She switched tactics - whispering shakily as she looked up at him where he stood above her stoically with his strong jaw clenched.

"More than anything." He replied easily - his cold expression and twitching jaw only adding fuel to the passionate fire burning in her core. She couldn't help herself after he delivered the tender statement - launching herself towards his lips.

Tig assumed the same position as before with his hand on her throat and his body pinning her against the storage unit when she lunged at him. His lips were against hers but he wasn't kissing her, teasing her instead with his teeth bared. He pulled back and lifted her leg with his free hand, deciding to test her flexibility as he brought it all the way up and rested her calf on his shoulder before leaning back in.

"Do you love me, baby?" He spoke against her lips tauntingly as he teased her weeping core with the tip of his dick, quickly pushing all the way inside of her before she could answer, watching her eyes roll back.

"Yes." She choked out, not expecting what came next as he flexed his hips, hitting so deep inside of her that she squeaked.

He held her in the excruciating position while he rubbed his thumb over her pulse, chuckling darkly as he stared into her pleading eyes.

"Then act like it." He pulled out, pushing off of her and tucking himself back into his jeans, ignoring her as she leant against the filing cabinet and gasped for air, trying to regain at least _some _composure.

"You're taking lunch. With me." He nodded to the door. "Let's go."

"The fuck I am!" Tig hadn't been the only frustrated one… She stood with her chest heaving, steadily declining the slope of yet _another_ orgasm.

Tig cocked his head when she talked back, disobeying orders _yet again._ He slowly walked up to her with his head tilted and his eyes squinted as if he was deeply trying to comprehend what she'd said.

"You don't own me." She seethed the clarification angrily, her narrowed eyes penetrating his soul where he stood in front of her.

There was dead silence as they stared each other down, before Tig managed to catch her off guard, shoving her _back_ up against the cabinets.

"Yes. I. Do." He sneered against her quivering lips. "I warned you earlier." He pulled away and gave her an animalistic once-over. "Now get that ass to my room, I aint done with it." He jerked away from her harshly and stomped out the door.

Sydney looked down at her shaking hands, feeling the threat of tears tingling in her face and the buzzing of desire between her legs. She may have pushed him past his breaking point, but he pushed her past the point of want - now, this was _need_.

Tig sat in the armchair in his dorm while he waited for Sydney. The encounter had gone even better than he could've hoped - having only planned on using it as an excuse to overpower her and get what he'd been after all morning, but all of his pent up frustration had inadvertently turned it into an opportunity to subconsciously work out the grievances they'd conjured up against one another in the past weeks.

Sydney arrived a few minutes later, having taken the time to redress, straighten herself out, and tell herself that she didn't need what he would give her - which had been unsuccessful - before making the trek through the clubhouse.

Once she reached his door, she took a deep breath before pushing it open, grinding her teeth when she saw him lounging back smugly. She leant against the door as it shut behind her, staring at him bitterly with her arms crossed, trying - and failing - to regulate her breathing.

"Come here." He ordered, watching her slowly drag her heels across the carpet before reaching the spot between his legs where he'd summoned her. "Get undressed." He challenged once she set the tone with her continuous defiant actions.

Sydney looked to the ground when he made his demand. Beginning to tremble as she felt her body doing what he'd asked, even though her mind was begging her not to give him the satisfaction.

Tig's hungry eyes feasted on the power that her vulnerability was hand feeding him, his erection straining against the zipper of his jeans. "Here." He tipped his chin towards his lap.

She glared at him with her lip turned up as her resentment grew, begrudgingly making her way over and straddling his lap, submitting to his degrading orders.

"What's wrong? Don't like being forced into submission?" He questioned knowingly, making her scoff and look away from his condescending gaze.

"Hey." He gripped her chin, forcing her hardened eyes back to his, looking over her body slowly as she quivered with desperation. "I know how you're feeling right now." He nodded sympathetically, rubbing his thumb across her cheek. "You know why?"

She pulled away as best she could with her face in his hands, averting her eyes out of embarrassment. "Why?" She whispered while she stared at the bathroom door with tears of humiliation in her eyes. She knew that she'd lost this round and she'd lost _hard_ \- maybe even harder than he'd lost when they'd first got together_. _She had no choice, he was the only one who could give her what she needed.

"Because it's how you make me feel all the time." He stroked her hair comfortingly before leaning into her neck and inhaling her scent. "And if you be a good girl." He whispered against her skin, nodding as he ghosted his lips up her neck. "I'll make it all go away." He finished his proposal with his teeth grazing her jaw.

She stared at him where he sat below her, his lips inches from hers. Any previous desperation she'd been feeling had been replaced with the emotion she was most familiar with: anger. The frustration had brought everything she had to be angry for, to the surface - which unbeknownst to her, was exactly what he wanted.

"Spoiled little Princess doesn't like losing, huh?" He mused tauntingly as he watched her grow more and more enraged in his grasp, hoping to bring as much of her resentment to the surface so that he could fuck it out of her.

"Fuck you." She spat, venom lacing her tone as she pushed off of him and turned away.

Tig smiled when the familiar icy-hot chill ran through his veins. He launched himself out of his seat, grabbing her wrist and yanking her back to him where he was met with an unexpected stinging across his cheek.

If Sydney thought that she was frozen before, then she was as good as paralyzed the second that her palm collided with his face out of pure impulse. She hadn't planned on reacting physically, but it was how she was wired to deal with anger - and she had too much of that lately; anger over the bullshit that their relationship had endured at the hands of no one but themselves, anger over Jax, anger over the loss of her dad, anger over SAMDINO never being what she needed, but most of all - anger over Tig possessing the power to get her this angry in the first place.

She watched as he stood with his body turned from the recoil, the unfamiliar feeling of fear creeping into her heart as she waited for him to process a reaction to what she'd done.

Tig felt the grin pulling at his lips - that sinister grin that everyone talked about - as the sting spread across his cheek. The sick bastard had always enjoyed getting hit a little _too_ much - hence the record he'd held in SAMCRO for most fights lost - and this was no different.

"I _know_ you didn't just hit me, did you baby?" He mused with a squint as he resumed his posture.

"Do you need me to do it again?" She seethed, her plans of apologizing going out the window as he towered over her and continued to taunt her.

Tig stood still, letting her mind wander before quickly shoving her down to the bed by her shoulder. He flipped her onto her stomach the second that she landed, letting her knees rest on the floor while he pulled her arms behind her so that she couldn't fight back as he sank to his knees behind her, wrapping a hand around her throat and pulling her up against his chest.

"Safeword?"

"I don't need one." She snarled before he shoved her back down to the mattress.

"You will." He spoke coldly, holding her in place by her wrists, pulling them up uncomfortably between her shoulder blades before his hand came down on her ass cheek _hard._

Sydney cried out loudly in both pain and surprise when he spanked her harder than she ever could've anticipated. Even more surprisingly, as soon as the blow was delivered - her muscles relaxed and a wave of release accompanied the pins and needles that spread through her lower body, sending a visible shiver through her.

"Get up." Tig ordered when he saw the goosebumps break out over her skin, leveraging his weight against her arms punishingly as he pushed himself up from the ground and dragged her to her feet to face him.

"Tell me." He commanded, getting no response as her hardened eyes stared right through him. He gripped her throat with one hand, and her shoulder with the other, swiftly turning her so that she couldn't look at him defiantly anymore.

Sydney whimpered as he manhandled her, flipping her and holding her again this chest where he wanted her. His grip on her throat eventually loosened, the pads of his fingers teasing the sensitive skin and lightly tangling in her hair while the cold metal of his rings contrasted the blush burning in her neck. The restraining arm he had across her hips let up too, dragging his fingers in tight circles over her mound.

"Tell me." His grip returned suddenly, making her gasp. "Come on, use that pretty mouth for something other than talking back." He coaxed with his lips against her ear, pressing his thumb against her clit.

"I'm yours." She moaned shakily the second that he touched her where she'd been aching for contact, her eyes rolling back.

"Yeah?" He dragged her to the armchair where he sat back with her in his lap. "You're mine baby?" He began massaging her slowly.

"Yes." She whimpered.

"You sure?" His digits made a sudden intrusion, making her gasp when he provided her with some much needed relief. He slid his fingers into her mouth when she cried out, letting her bite down on them as he began prodding her g-spot.

Sydney sucked on his fingers gratefully when she was unable to form any coherent words, all she could do was moan and writhe against his chest and hope that the desperation behind her eyes was enough to convey that she was admitting defeat.

Tig ripped his fingers out of her when he saw the look on her face, pushing her up off of him and getting to his feet. She responded favorably this time, falling back on the bed and yanking him to her by his belt buckle, looking up at him seductively as she undid his pants and lowered her mouth onto his cock.

"Yeah, you're mine." Tig nodded with a chuckle when she sucked his dick just as greedily as she'd sucked his fingers, allowing her to continue for a few seconds while tracing her jaw before he lifted her mouth off of him. He leaned down and pushed her up the bed before grasping her ankles, pulling back down so that she was now on her back in the same spot.

Sydney leaned up as her face flushed with excitement, tilting her head back as he crawled over her, waiting for his lips but he pulled away from her face and latched them to her nipple instead. She threw her head back when he ravished her chest, shivering when she finally felt his mouth on her in a way that wasn't brutal or taunting. She slid her hands down the collar of his shirt, needing to feel his skin against hers.

Tig sat up and let her fumble with the buttons of his shirt for a few seconds before he pushed her back down to the bed by her chest. He lessened the pressure, lifting his hand slowly in case she tried to push the boundaries, nodding approvingly when she stayed down. He held her eye contact as his mouth returned to her chest, licking at her hardened nipples before dragging his lips all the way down her body, licking a long stripe through her folds the same way that he'd done earlier.

He watched her back arch, feeling her body tense with each pass of his tongue, grasping her hands and pulling her eyes towards his as he sucked on her clit, twirling his tongue around the oversensitive bundle of nerves.

"Tiggy." She whined, throwing her head back and pushing herself against his mouth.

He pulled away when she got too comfortable, hovering over where she needed him most as he stared at her until she looked down at him, spitting onto her clit once her eyes met his and diving back in, holding her thighs against his shoulders. He worked her with his mouth in every way he knew how until she climaxed, not stopping as she began to squeal when the sensitivity became too much.

Sydney shook beneath his grip, her toes curling against his back and her hands pulling at his curls until he finally pulled his mouth away. She lifted her head slowly as it spun with the effects of the long awaited and highly anticipated orgasm.

Tig _almost_ cracked when she looked at him like that: her hazy eyes consumed by lust, her hair messy, and her cheeks red. He lifted her up the bed, climbing on top of her and lacing his fingers in hers, bringing her hands above her head where he wove their fingers through her hair, holding her down against the mattress as he pushed inside of her.

The cracks in Sydney's facade deepened when he began fucking her hard and deep with his hands holding her down - not letting her touch him the way she wanted. Finally, her actions became more submissive than combative, her need for release overtaking her need to win - staring at him with her mouth agape, moaning the way he wanted.

"Good girl." He groaned with his forehead against hers, leaning to kiss her rewardingly but instead pulling away and moving to her neck.

Sydney felt her second orgasm approaching quickly. She pulled at his shirt while he was distracted by making her cum, which she _thought _was successful when he sat up and ridded himself of the offending garment, but he didn't let up on his pace as he did so.

As soon as her squealing got louder and her walls began pulsing around his dick, he dove down to her lips where he kissed her for the first time since their quarrel had started. Her hands clung to his neck, holding him in place as her lips devoured his in a needy flurry, even as her body released. But that was all part of his plan because as soon as she got a taste of what she'd been after, he pushed her back down - straightening himself up as he pulled her legs up to his chest, hugging her knees together as he continued fucking her from the new and incredibly deep angle.

Sydney felt her body giving out when he began overstimulating her, understanding now what his plan was as he gripped her waist harshly, pulling her to meet his thrusts as he pounded against her already quivering walls. She screamed with each snap of his hips, tears filling her eyes as she shook her head. It wasn't that it didn't feel good… It was that it felt _too_ good. Too good for her to form any proper words as _another _orgasm approached - an orgasm that she didn't know if she could handle.

"No?" He raised a brow as he felt her walls constricting around his dick so quickly again.

"N-no." She whimpered just before the familiar feeling crashed through her once again, sending tears streaming from her eyes as her mind went blank and she lost complete control over her body. _Now_ she was his.

Once the initial high wore off, Sydney gained enough control of her senses to feel Tig moving her leg and sliding an arm under her stomach to flip her over. She laid on her shaky arms and knees, panting with tear stained cheeks as she felt his mouth on her from behind before he pushed into her once again.

"You're gonna give me one more." He told her as he leveraged himself with a hand on her lower back.

Her entire body pulsed with sensitivity once he was inside of her again, she wouldn't have been able to protest his demand even if she wanted to. She nodded her fuzzy head as best she could, which felt like slow motion as she looked up at him with her lazy eyes as he grazed his hands along her lower back before gripping her hips and beginning the final race to the finish line.

Sydney lowered her head against the mattress, unsure if she would be able to stay conscious but knowing that she _needed_ to touch him if she wanted to try. She reached behind her blindly as she wept into the blanket, grabbing one of the hands that he had on her hip and squeezing it as tight as she could, dragging it up her body, to the top of her head.

A shock ran through him when she brought his hand to her head to hold her down and pushed her hips back against him to meet his thrusts. Now that he was focused on the new and familiar goal, he quickly felt the effect that he'd had on her body: she was impossibly hot, wet, and tight as her spasming inner muscles milked his dick like never before. He was impressed with his stamina in the predicament, he hadn't even thought about how good this felt for _him_ \- he hadn't cared about his own pleasure, this was business.

He pulled her arms behind her back and pushed his hand between her shoulder blades, arching her back as he snapped his hips harshly against her ass, pulling her up abruptly to look into his eyes before she came for the final time.

"Are you- gonna- cum for me- Tiggy." She choked out as her eyes rolled back and more tears loosened.

Tig came on command when even on the verge of passing out - she was still concerned over his satisfaction. He pressed his lips to her forehead as her body completely gave out in his grip. He pulled out of her and wrapped her up in the blanket while she sniffed and her body buzzed with an abundance of aftershocks, hugging her and stroking her hair while she slowly came back down to earth after being launched so far into space.

"You weren't kidding about that safeword." She chuckled as she shivered against his chest, her body feeling less numb against the warmth of his.

Tig laughed when the first thing he heard from her was a joke - having worried after the slap, the tears, _and _the 'no', that he may have pushed her too far, but as usual - she surprised him.

"You still mad at me?" He looked down at her with a raised brow.

"Yes." She looked up at him with a smirk.

Tig snorted when she continued testing him even after what had just transpired. "Yeah, yeah." He pulled her head against his chest so that she couldn't look at him with those eternally playful green eyes. "Start thinking about that safeword." He kissed her on the forehead and stood from the bed, scooping her up and setting her on top of his dresser as he began looking for some clean clothes.

"Wear the black one." He heard from where he was crouched on the floor, rifling through his shirts in the bottom drawer. He looked up to see Sydney's foot against his chest, guiding his eyes up to her where she sat with her lip between her teeth.

"Okay baby." He smiled bashfully, straightening up and standing between her legs where she sat perched on the chest of drawers, kissing her tenderly before pulling away and hugging her tight against his body.

"I didn't touch him, you know…" Sydney clarified with her nose in the crook of his neck while he rubbed her back, pulling away and looking up at him sincerely.

"I know." Tig winked, grinning as he lifted her back into his arms. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Sydney emerged from the hallway hand in hand with Tig after getting straightened out - which had been more of a task than she'd bargained for after his extensive efforts. Her head was still spinning, but she had regained enough control of her body that she could walk with his assistance, heading outside for some fresh air - as per his recommendation - to clear up the hazy cloud in her mind.

Tig's brow creased when he felt Sydney's hand pulling him back when he tried to take a step forward, turning around to see her stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at Cheryl who sat on the couch with Chibs across the bar.

Sydney felt a smirk pulling at her lips, her feet carrying her towards the older woman - completely forgetting about her wobbly legs and fuzzy brain.

Tig's eyes widened as he watched her strut with no regard for her unstable body, towards the whore that continuously tested her.

"What the hell do you want, slu-"

"Tig's sheets need washing." Sydney cut her off, cocking a brow as she brushed her tousled sex-hair over her shoulder.

Cheryl's face fell when her eyes landed on the hickey on Sydney's neck, looking over her disheveled appearance, then Tig's, her expression towards him turning angry as his bitch tried to order her around again.

"I'm not-"

"It's your job, isn't it? Cleaning cum off of the sheets after the men finish with their women?" Sydney questioned with a stoic face and a cocky tone, cutting off whatever weak '_I don't take orders from you' _protest she was about to utter.

"That's right, doll." Tig nodded his confirmation, eager for an opportunity to further prove his loyalty to Sydney.

Cheryl looked to Chibs for backup but the Scot offered no such thing, looking at Sydney and then back at her with expectant eyes. "I didn't think you'd need to be reminded of your job around here, love." He whispered into her ear, winking to Sydney as his comment sent Cheryl stomping past her and down the hallway to do as she was told.

* * *

**Songs for this chapter: I See Red - Everybody Loves an Outlaw**


	36. Old Skulls

aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)

General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.

* * *

**CHAPTER 36: OLD SKULLS**

Tig smirked as he walked behind Sydney while she led him out of the clubhouse, his eyes glued to her ass where his dark red handprint peeked out from the bottom of the skimpy shorts that she wore. She led him onto the compound where they were met by Half-Sack boxing in the ring while Chibs coached him, watching the lunchtime entertainment in amusement before Tig led them to the nearby picnic table that Bobby was at, smirking when he watched Sydney wince as she sat down.

"You okay, baby?" He asked with a knowing smile as she shifted to get comfortable.

Sydney bit her lip and smiled bashfully, looking up at him with starry eyes and glowing cheeks as he stood over her looking _far_ too good in all black with his sunglasses on. He smiled back, climbing onto the picnic table behind her where he put his legs on either side of her and rested her head against his knee. Once she was settled, he alternated between gently caressing her lips, cheek, and jaw, while his other arm draped over her shoulder held onto both of her hands.

"Why don't you get him a _real_ opponent?" Sydney asked Bobby as she eyed the poor prospect who she could tell was _dying_ to blow off some steam as he bounced from one side of the ring to the other.

"And who do you suggest I use for that?"

"Lowell." Tig answered with a shit-eating grin as he turned toward the garage where the young mechanic was working. Bobby raised a brow, but a smirk tugged at his lips as he sauntered over to the twitchy man and ordered him to suit up.

"You work shit out with Jax?" Tig removed his sunglasses and lowered his mouth to Sydney's ear once Bobby was gone, supporting her still heavy head while she strained her neck to look up at him, running his thumb over her jaw.

"Yeah." She nodded softly. "He apologized. Talked to Tara, said he would handle Kohn."

"You think he could do it?" He squinted.

Sydney wasn't surprised when he thought that "handling Kohn" meant axing him - it had been her first thought too. "I don't know if it'll come to that…" She answered as truthfully as possible without telling him that she'd advised he do the exact opposite: let the cops handle it… Something that they did _not_ do. "But if anyone can push him to it, it's her."

Tig nodded his agreement to her statement, his attention turning to Lowell who entered the ring and began sparring with Half-Sack. The kid wasn't bad, but the years of drug use had definitely dulled his senses because he wasn't nearly as sharp as his opponent.

"You know I'm still gonna beat his ass, right?" Tig looked down at Sydney with a raised brow, returning to their earlier conversation.

"Of course." She laughed, her eyes flicking to his lips.

He craned his neck to kiss her deeply, smiling against her mouth before pulling away and wrapping his arms around her, hugging her and rubbing small circles over her chest with his thumbs. The brutal session had _definitely_ had the desired effect - her breakdown before her multiple orgasms had her clinging to him like she never had before.

"We can go back inside and lay down if you want." He mumbled into her hair while he pressed his lips to the top of her head, knowing that she was craving more closeness than he could give her in the open.

"I think we'll both end up with sore asses if we do that…" She spoke wearily as Clay drove into the lot.

"Yeah… Me too." Tig chuckled. "You stayin with me tonight?" She looked up and nodded with those innocent eyes, the action drawing his head down for another kiss. "I love you." He spoke with his eyes closed and a smile on his face when their lips parted.

"I love you more." She nodded sincerely, swooning at just how rough he could be in bed, but how soft he could be outside.

"I'm gonna throw up." Bobby grumbled, tipping his beer back. Tig was the one who sported a bashful smile now, pulling out a pack of smokes as he turned his attention towards the fight where Half-Sack had backed Lowell into a corner. "Hands up Lowell!"

"Anybody can beat up a junkie, prospect… Doesn't mean shit." Chibs coaxed from the sidelines.

Sydney accepted the cigarette Tig passed down to her, snorting when she lit up as Lowell got in a good hit on Half-Sack when he'd been distracted by Jessica bringing Chibs a beer.

"Jesus christ!" Clay groaned as he approached the picnic table, getting an eyeful of Sydney's hickey, Tig's red face, and their collective wild hair. "I try to keep you two busy, and you still find time?"

"Lunch break! Come on boss, a girl's gotta eat." Sydney held out her arms expectantly with a sly smile. "And besides, you didn't let me finish my breakfast."

"Alright, well I trust now that you got a belly full of tigger juice, you won't need to eat for the rest of the day." He tilted his head, matching her quick wit with his own before his attention was stolen from the pair of nymphomaniacs and caught by Lowell taking a solid one of Half-Sack's right hooks before falling to the ground.

"Shit Lowell! Get outta there!" He shook his head. "Who's idea was this?"

"Tig's-"

"Bobby's." The two guilty men answered at the same time.

"How's he doin?" Clay lowered his voice as he took a seat at the table.

"Well, the latest round of rehab seems to be stickin, he hasn't missed any work." Tig reported the status of the junkie.

"If I could get AA to kick up a vig, Lowell could make us all rich." Sydney laughed at Clay's joke as he sparked up a cigar, eyeing Jax as he rode into the lot.

"Lowell's always been a freak… A damn good mechanic though, I guess you taught him that." Bobby nodded to the white haired man.

"How's sugar ray one-nut lookin?" Jax asked as he approached the group at the table, watching Half-Sack who had moved his tirade from the ring, to the punching bag.

"He's wicked fast, got a great right hook."

"How much money gets thrown around at these bare-fist things?" Clay inquired, an idea coming to him...

"The purse is okay… But it's the betting that's gone crazy." Tig nodded, sliding his sunglasses into the front pocket of his kutte. "I know a couple guys who last year, made six figures each."

"Really?" Sydney could see Clay's brows raise in surprise even under his sunglasses, his gaze shifting to Half-Sack. "Got one-forty on hand for McKeevy…"

"You aint thinkin about bettin on the prospect?"

"He could knock any one of those lightweights out, any day of the week." Chibs vouched for his prospect.

"You know… If Half-Sack takes his first five fights, looks strong going into the finish and we control how it ends, it could be a _huge_ payday." Tig backed up his President while Bobby shook his head skeptically.

"What do you think?" Clay asked Jax, showing his VP some good faith for one of the first times in the past weeks that he felt he could bear to.

"I don't know." Jax shrugged carelessly. "But I do know that we need the cash…"

"What if we control both." Sydney took a lazy drag from her cigarette as the men all turned to her with brows raised. "Lowell. We enter them both, bet accordingly, swing it so that they fight each other in the end. That way we get that jackpot from betting, _and_ all of the side coin."

"I'm in." Clay grinned, a chorus of agreements following his announcement, a smile spreading across Sydney's face. "Take fifty grand, I wanna see it tripled." He nodded to Sydney and Tig who exchanged grins of excitement. "You're training them. No booze, no weed, no pussy." He nodded to Chibs, getting up from the table as everyone dispersed.

"Well, it's a good thing Tig aint the one fightin." Bobby scoffed when Clay listed off the three things that made up the Sergeant's entire diet.

"Hey, call Unser, would ya? Been tryin him all mornin." Clay asked the VP who trailed behind him, looking over his shoulder at Sydney and Tig to see if there was a way that he could get her alone.

"He's out on the job…. Water and Power dug up some old bones out on forty-four." Jax reported his findings from his field trip to the police station where he'd told Hale about Kohn and Tara.

Tig's ears perked up from a few feet away when Jax mentioned the discovery of human remains off the highway… The remains that they'd never intended to be found by anyone. He stalked up slowly, eyeing Clay from behind Jax, exchanging looks of wonder over how they were going to get out of this.

Jax could see the guilt all over Clay's face, looking behind him to see Tig sharing the same expression. "What…" He asked regrettably, not liking where this was headed as Clay walked off without a word.

"I don't know." Tig shrugged, breaking eye contact and summoning Sydney to follow.

"Wheelin out two bodies…" Jax spoke from the treeline where Tig, Clay and Sydney stood next to him, watching the excavation of the burial site.

"There should be three." Jax and Sydney both looked at Tig with raised brows.

"I'm afraid to ask…" Jax didn't understand how Tig could speak so calmly. More bodies meant _more_ problems, _more_ likelihood of evidence.

"Don't be. There it is." Tig pointed to the third body bag being hauled off by Hale.

"Is this us?" The VP sighed.

"No shit it's us." Sydney scoffed, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"Yeah…" Clay confirmed, looking over at Tig as Jax walked off in frustration.

Sydney knew that there was something deeper with these bones, and by the looks of it: Clay and Tig were responsible, and Jax - and maybe even the rest of the club - was never supposed to know. She looked between the two older men with her brows raised, letting them know that she _knew_ there was more to the story before she followed Jax back to the bikes.

"Clay, they are going to push to ID those bones." Tig shook his head in worry once the two blondes were out of earshot.

"I know… We gotta stop that from happening. If the club finds out, they'll know something isn't right. And if the feds get to Lowell…" Clay winced. "The kid is on a wire, could run right back to the needle at any second. If there's anything we've learned with this… It's that junkies _can't_ be trusted." He narrowed his eyes at Tig who nodded in agreement. If Lowell flew off the handle over this finding, he would face the exact same fate that his dad did, for the exact same reason.

"Get Sydney up to speed." Clay decided as he watched Hale, knowing that any more crime associated with the club would only heighten their position on A.T.F.'s radar. He needed bodies, and brains if he wanted to keep himself clear of the feds _and_ his club.

"W-what?" Tig shook his head, he must've heard wrong. There was no way that Clay was letting not only an outsider, but a _newcomer _in on their dirty little secret - a secret that would earn them a one-way ticket to Skeeter's crematorium. "With the truth?"

"Not all of it. Just what she needs to know." Clay clarified, turning to head back to the bikes, looking over his shoulder at his hesitant Sergeant. "Unless, you got a problem with that too?"

"No." Tig shook his head with his lips pursed, ignoring the chill that ran through him when once again, he was called out for not obeying his President - the one thing that his job was to _not_ do.

"Hey, I was hoping to talk to you." Jax looked up from the dirt beneath his shoes when Sydney appeared from the bushes, grateful that it was her and not Clay.

"You talk to Hale?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Said he's gonna handle it. He was pretty pissed."

"I'm not surprised." Sydney scoffed. "I think you may want to keep an eye on our friend on the force. He's got a little crush on your old squeeze." She smirked knowingly. "Or should I say… Current squeeze?" She mused.

"I don't know if I'd say that…" The blonde man looked back to the ground with a bashful smile.

"You trust him?" Sydney reverted back to the matter that _actually_ concerned her. If Jax didn't trust Hale, she couldn't trust that the club was safe.

"I guess we'll see…" He squinted in the hot California sun, not feeling as confident in his fellow Charming native as he wished he did. "Until Kohn is _completely _dealt with… I'm gonna need your help."

"I thought I blew that opportunity." She scoffed, kicking a rock with the toe of her shoe.

"It's for the club." He clarified, knowing that she didn't want to help him any more than he wanted her help. "You were right - what you said about me not bringing this to the table… It's bad timing. I need you to help me keep an eye out. Kohn is gonna be pissed, if he's as dangerous as I think he is - he's gonna lurk around for a few days, try and catch some shit that he could use as an excuse to stay. We need to make sure everyone is protected without tipping them off."

"I can do that." She nodded curtly.

"You get a weird vibe from them?" The VP sat down on his bike sideways, nodding towards the clearing in the bushes where he knew Clay and Tig were likely devising a plan to get them clear of whatever the hell was in that hole.

"About the bones?"

Jax nodded - hoping to let her know through his sincere expression that he genuinely valued her knowledge and intuition, even though he didn't always act like it.

"I'm sure they're just shaken. Probably never expected they'd be found, worried about evidence they might've left behind." Her answer wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth. Clay and Tig had done a _horrible_ job of hiding their worry, which had only led the two blondes to the one conclusion that they wanted so badly to avoid - and she needed to find out what exactly that worry was.

"Yeah… That's what worries me." He trailed off, sliding a cigarette into his mouth when Clay and Tig returned.

"You wanna get changed before the fights?" Tig asked over his shoulder as Sydney settled behind him on his bike.

"Yeah, we have time?" She looked to Clay for confirmation, knowing that the poor man had been worn down to the bone today, and them being late to church _again_ may full well have the power to send the man into an early grave.

"Only if you don't show up with a handprint on your other ass cheek." Clay deadpanned as he put his helmet on.

Sydney's eyes widened - she'd _felt_ Tig's mark for sure, but she had no idea that it was low enough to be visible... She looked over her shoulder and sure enough, there it was, clear-as-day: a dark five-star protruding from her hemline. She looked back to Tig who was wearing a shit-eating grin as he turned back around and fired up his bike.

Tig walked up the stairs behind Sydney with his head hung as the dreaded conversation neared. This was wrong. The fact that the situation even had to be re-lived in the first place was wrong, but having to divulge one of the many dark secrets he had hidden in the back of his mind had him wrestling with his conscience. Even if he only told her what she needed to know, he knew that she would keep digging and eventually uncover the truth. He didn't want to do it, he didn't even want to _think _about it - but he had no choice.

Sydney pranced around the room, bouncing with excitement over the event of the evening and mindlessly chattering over what she wanted to wear to the fights, but Tig heard none of it as he zoned out, drowning in the noise in his head as he started down at the thread pattern in her comforter.

"Hello?" He heard vaguely before something hit him in the face, snapping out of his trance to see the white top Sydney had been wearing, on the bed next to him.

"Damn." She crossed her arms over her bare chest and raised a brow. "Somethin about those bones' got you _real_ twisted up." She joked when he didn't acknowledge her undressing in front of him.

"Uh." Tig closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out _how_ to broach the subject in a way where she wouldn't try to pry the details out of him. "Yeah, about that… I gotta tell you somethin."

"Okay." She replied casually, sliding her shorts down and walking over to her vanity chair in her underwear - getting to work on her makeup.

Tig blinked a few times when she didn't seem fazed. "Those bones… They're Mayan."

"Okay?" Sydney drew out in confusion, shaking her head with a scowl - unsure why some Mayan bones had him and Clay so stressed out.

"But the third one… It's Lowell's dad."

"Really?" Her eyes widened with a slight twinkle as she whipped her head around to face him, seeing him struggling with the words he was trying to tell her. "Well shit." She scoffed, turning back to face the mirror.

"Lowell thinks his dad bailed when he was a teenager… Clay's taken care of him ever since."

"And you guys don't want him to find out that you killed him?" She surmised easily, not looking up from the powder compact in her hand.

"We didn't kill him." Tig snapped.

"That's why he was buried with the enemy, right?" She snorted, swirling her brush around in the dark coloured powder before dusting it around the perimeter of her face, getting no response. She eventually turned around to see Tig staring blankly at the floor.

"Why'd you kill him?" Tig heard her soft voice and felt the bed dipping beside him, her hand sliding over his thigh. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't lie to her, but he knew he couldn't tell her the truth…

"One of those things that we can't tell each other?"

His eyes snapped up to see her sitting next to him, bundled up in her robe. His first reaction was to prepare for a fight, something he'd been conditioned to do whenever club business reared its ugly head in his relationships, but all he saw was sincerity behind her eyes.

"Okay." She nodded, taking his reaction as a yes. "Just tell me what I need to do."

"What?" He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, unable to comprehend how she was just okay with this. He'd _murdered _a man, for a reason that she _knew_ had to be bad, _and_ hid it from the club. "Okay? Just like that?"

"Well obviously you're telling me for a reason. I told you before, I understand the life, that there _will_ be things that we can't tell each other. I trust you and I trust Clay, whatever reason you had to kill him was good enough to get him thrown into an enemy grave." She knew that was no mistake or corner cut, that was a message. "But I'm guessing that the rest of the club didn't agree at the time?"

Tig looked at her with his gorgeous blue eyes swimming with tears - overwhelmed by the less than favorable memory of the shady shit he and Clay has pulled off, the anxiety he'd lived with everyday for _years _over being found out, and the understanding that she was giving him when he didn't deserve it.

"He was a junkie." The truth he _could _give began flowing easily, but he still couldn't look her in the eye as he explained. "Worked at TM, overheard club shit. We trusted him too much… Let friendship get in the way of safety. When things got heated with the Mayans in '92, he started to buckle under the pressure. We couldn't risk it. The club thinks that he split."

"Well, he did technically." Sydney joked. She believed that what he was saying was the truth, but she also felt like he might've been leaving a few things out, because if Lowell Sr. really _was_ a liability, surely the club would've been on board with terminating a threat? "So what do we need to do?"

"Clay's gonna tell everyone that the bodies are Mayan, swing it in a way where everyone thinks it's to protect us from A.T.F. - which it is, it just aint the only reason. We just gotta nod along."

"Think they're gonna try and ID them?" She thought it seemed unlikely if the bones were dated back to a known gang turf-war.

"Clay thinks they will, that's why he wanted me to tell you…"

"We gotta stop it, because he can't have Jax or anyone else knowing." She surmised, nodding with a smile.

"Yeah." Tig forced a chuckle at her satisfaction over being trusted with the case sensitive information.

"Jax is already suspicious, so we need to make sure this goes smoothly. I'll think of something." She nodded.

"You just love this shit, don't you?" Tig squinted with a smile. The chaos could weigh on him sometimes, yes. But it had always been where he felt the most himself, he'd never thought that he would be able to share that with a partner.

"I only dreamed for this shit back home." She snorted.

Tig chuckled, looking down with a smile before he remembered they were on a time crunch. "Aight, we gotta hurry to get this done before the fights start."

"Well, if this aint shaping up to be the _perfect_ date night, then I don't know what is." She smirked, nudging his shoulder in an attempt to lighten the dreary mood.

Tig felt a grin tugging at the sides of his mouth. "It sure is, baby." He reached out for her, pulling her to straddle his lap. "Now what were you sayin about what you were gonna wear?" He grinned up at her as he pulled her robe open.

"Well I was trying to decide… But my old man wasn't paying attention to me." She pouted, looking down as she fiddled with the lapel of his kutte.

"You got my attention now." He assured her as his eyes bore a whole through her exposed chest.

"I could try some things on for you?" She peeked through her lashes to see his reaction, his face going blank as he slipped into a trance and nodded slowly.

Sydney bit her lip with a smile, hopping up out of his lap and skipping over to the closet where she changed into one of the outfits that he had chosen for her to wear to her first dinner at Gemma's all those weeks ago: the green bodysuit and black jeans.

"Nah." Was the first thing she heard when she came out of the closet, her face falling as she looked down at her attire.

"I thought you liked this one." She whined, she'd been dying to wear it since he'd shown her how good it looked.

"I do, babe." He spoke tenderly, nodding his assurance as he got up from the bed and walked over to her, turning her to look in the mirror as he stood behind her. "But I want this-" He brought his hand down on her ass and squeezed the bruised skin harshly, making her yelp. "Visible. Tonight, you're gonna make everyone want you, and then you're gonna show them that you belong to me." He spoke with his lips against her ear, finally releasing his grip and pressing a kiss to her temple.

A grin spread across Sydney's face as she looked up at him, amused. "Yes sir." She cocked a brow and strutted back into the closet for an outfit that would satisfy his request.

"You know, I'm a little confused Wayne. I thought I made it pretty clear that this friendship's gotta go both ways." Clay squinted as he sat on his bike and lit up a cigar.

"Hale _knows_ I'm dirty." The Chief of police tried to defend himself, taking a look around where they sat at the gas station on the outskirts of town to be sure that none of his colleagues had trailed behind him after they'd left the scene. "I've been pushed out."

"Well then you get yourself back in! I can't have this shit, it will end badly for _all_ of us."

"You think I don't know that? I don't want this shit any more than you do, but I can't slip up with A.T.F. sniffin around!"

"Yeah…" Clay relented, sitting back against his seat. "I guess you're right."

"Look, I'm doing what I can here, Clay." Unser calmed down as well. "You guys just need to stay clear of anything until this A.T.F. heat dies down. I can handle Hale, but I can't sway the feds."

"They gonna be doing any ID on those bones?"

"I don't know… Why?" The worry in Unser's tone returned.

"You don't need to know. I need a favor."

"What is it?"

"Need to borrow a truck, Monday afternoon, will be back Tuesday." Clay spoke bitterly, still unhappy that all he'd been able to convince the stubborn Indian Hills President of was one order with half the cash up front, _past_ the date that McKeevy would be back for the money.

"Okay." Under nodded, glad that he could do this to keep himself off of Clay's shit list. "Need to make it look stolen though."

"Not a problem."


	37. New Bones

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 37: NEW BONES**

"So all three of em are Mayan?" Jax responded when Clay finally revealed what all the fuss was about over these bones.

"Yep." Clay confirmed while Tig pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled sharply, hoping that they could pull this off because he was _not _trying to go back to a time when everything he and his President did was behind the club's back.

"Back in '92, Mexicans tried to expand their Oakland dope base - we couldn't let that happen. It was a bloody two years, bodies _dropped_."

"Yeah, I remember. That was right around the time my old man died." Jax nodded somberly.

"That's right."

"Now, we gotta stop the PD from IDing those bodies man. I mean... If they flag the Mayans, we're their next stop." Tig intervened quickly, diverting the attention away from JT.

Sydney's ears perked up when Clay brushed off Jax's statement in an uncharacteristic tone - one that almost sounded nervous - and then Tig rushed to cover it up. Her forehead creased as she studied the men out of the corner of her eye, but saw no further oddities - chalking it up to worry over the truth being found out.

"We can pull the teeth to stop the ID, but they can still DNA test."

"Forensic tests on three bodies? That would blow half off Unser's yearly budget." Bobby scoffed.

"Yeah, but if Hale thought it would hurt us - he'd get his new fed buddies to float the cost."

"Shit, I mean, this was pre-OJ right… We weren't thinking about DNA right back in '93. What kind of clues d'we got buried with those mexicans." Tig's tone fluctuated between a high pitched laugh, and a low, serious grumble. Sydney could tell that his nerves were getting the best of him, but at least there was a decent cover on the table to explain it to his brothers.

"If they don't know they're Mayans, they won't take it any farther." Chibs tried to reassure the distraught Sergeant. Sydney resisted the urge to argue that if they _did_ know that they were Mayans, they might not take it any farther. But her position here was to help get everybody on board with _stopping_ the ID, not pushing for it.

"We stop the identification, we stop the investigation." Clay summed up the game plan.

"You're awfully quiet today, Princess. Thought you'd have a lot more to say, lookin like that." Chibs heckled Sydney, eyeing the sheer bustier top she wore tucked into a _tiny_ pair of leather shorts.

"Yeah, did you decide bein a croweater was your calling after all?" Jax looked at her with a playful smile.

"Maybe she's scared that if she opens that pretty mouth, she's gonna get another spanking." Bobby joked with wide eyes.

Tig grinned with pride when his brothers brought attention to not only the outfit he'd chosen for her to wear, but also the power he'd displayed over her - a nice change from what was usually the opposite.

Sydney bit her lip, shaking her head with a bashful smile as she stood from her chair, turning on her heels and heading out the door, sticking up her middle finger when the inevitable round of hollering began once her back was turned, giving everybody a clear view of the handprint that her ass was showcasing - just as Tig had wanted.

The chapel cleared out, Sons spilling out onto the compound where Lowell and Half-Sack were jumping rope to keep their heart-rates up. Tig, Sydney, and Chibs all sat down at the picnic table, drilling the details and consequences of what tonight was _really_ about, into the two young fighters.

Gemma looked up from the stack of receipts she was inputting since she'd been out running errands all morning, removing her reading glasses when Clay entered the office. "Town's talking about the skulls that rolled outta that hole…"

"I'm sure they are." He walked over to the window, watching Jax waltz to his bike while on the phone with Trammel; trying to see if his stepson was showing any signs of suspicion - which thankfully, he wasn't.

"You thought about damage control?" Gemma raised a brow, knowing that this secret was only the tip of the iceberg to something _much_ bigger.

"Tig's the only one who knows the truth. Everybody else thinks those bodies are Mayans."

"And how do you stop that truth from spreading?"

"Got Sydney on board for some extra man power - might need some of the quick thinking she's good at." Clay smirked.

"You trust her?" Gemma's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Yeah, don't you?" Clay scowled, thinking that she would've been glad to have such a strong force on their side.

"Well, yeah but…" She shook her head. "That kind of secret could _crush_ us, crush the club, could crush Jax."

"Hey, I said Tig is the only one who knows the truth." He put up a hand to stop her from spiralling the way that he knew she would if he didn't convince her otherwise. "Your boy will be fine. She doesn't know all of it. Besides, she's _all_ for 'the good of the club' - wouldn't be interested in crushing the one thing she came here for." He lowered his head so that she could see his narrowed eyes under his sunglasses, watching her as she chewed the inside of her lip. "I've got it covered, alright? Don't worry. This shit stays in the rearview." He closed out the discussion before heading out the door and over to Jax.

"Talked to Trammel." Jax reported. "The San Joa. County coroner's clearing space but the bones stay local tonight."

"Good. Now I gotta get into the lower level of the hospital… You uh, think the old squeeze might be able to hook a brother up?"

"I'll see what I can do." Jax responded, clapping Clay's shoulder. He had no intention of enlisting Tara to aid and abet, but he wasn't going to tell Clay that.

Sydney and Tig stood outside of a staff room in the hospital, waiting for Jax to return with the entry key from Tara. The plan Sydney had devised was for everyone to visit Abel at some point, not raising any suspicion as to why they were there. Jax would get Tara to give Tig and Clay access to the morgue, while she would keep the VP distracted on the main level.

"Tara's not here." Jax emerged from the room.

"Alright, what do you wanna do?" Tig looked up from the magazine he'd been reading haphazardly, tucking it back into the stand.

"Lab coat, on the chair." Jax nodded to the visible keycard sticking out of the pocket of the white coat draped across the couch next to a middle-aged man, stepping back so that Tig could peek his head in to see what they were working with. "Think you can distract the doctor?" He whispered.

"No problem." Tig nodded with a mischievous smirk, taking a step forward before he felt himself being pulled back, looking down to see Sydney slipping past him with a wink.

"Excuse me?" The exhausted man looked up from his coffee to see a gorgeous blonde girl standing in front of him, dressed in what most people wouldn't even consider to be clothing.

"Uh." He blinked a few times when his fantasy appeared before his eyes, shaking his head to be sure that it wasn't just the double shift getting the best of him. "Hi!" He perked up when his eyes focused and she was still standing before him. "What can I-" He cleared his throat. "What can I do for you?"

"I need some help, it's kind of embarrassing..." She bit her lip and looked to her black toenails that were peeking through the open-toe slots in her booties. "Do you think you could take a look at this?" She turned on her tiptoes, looking over her shoulder at the bruise on her ass.

The doctor's eyes widened, this was not possibly happening. Not something this perfect… "Uh, yes! Why don't we go down the hall here." He stood quickly and placed his hand on her lower back, gesturing down the more secluded hallway where he could 'get a good look'.

Sydney smirked over her shoulder at Jax who stood by the door, shaking his head with an amused grin before he bounded into the room and swiped the key card.

"Dr. douchebag enjoy my hand on your ass?" Tig asked Sydney bitterly as they trailed behind Jax, the smirk on his face giving him away when she peered up at him.

She stepped in front of him and turned to face him, stopping the steady pace they'd been walking at. His hands found her waist to steady himself as he crashed into her, holding her tight against his body - which judging by the smirk on her face, was exactly what she wanted.

"Hmm." She hummed, looking at his neck as she trailed her hand up his chest and into the collar of his black shirt, hooking her finger into the silver chain he wore around his neck where she pulled him closer to her. "Not as much as you do." She rasped close enough to his mouth that he could taste her before pulling away.

Jax returned to Abel's room where Clay was waiting for the signal, smiling as he looked down at his grandson. "Hey." He greeted his stepfather with a sincere smile, something he hadn't done in months. "Managed to swipe a keycard, should get you guys downstairs." He passed the chump's ID card over the glass.

"Tig's waiting by the elevator." Sydney announced as soon as she entered the room, knowing that they were on a time crunch. Clay nodded and took his leave, brushing past her on his way out.

"Wow." She breathed out when she got a good look inside the incubation chamber, unable to believe how tiny the baby was.

"You haven't seen him yet?" Jax was surprised, he was sure that everyone had been by to meet his son by now.

"Uh, no." She answered somewhat uncomfortably, never having been properly invited. "I mean, I usually just stand guard for your mom, she likes her space." She shook off the awkwardness with a knowing smile, which Jax returned at the mention of the well known trait of his mother.

"Hey, doc." Sydney's brow creased as Tara entered the room. "I didn't think you were here today?" She looked right at Jax as she spoke.

Tara looked between the two blondes, wondering if there was something that she had missed. "Oh uh, making the rounds - hard to track down sometimes." She nodded, hoping she'd played along well enough.

Sydney's expression only deepened, she knew that the brunette was lying by the pathetic way she looked for Jax's nod of approval. It wasn't a big deal she supposed, she should've expected it really - just another way that Jax was looking out for himself, not the club.

"I'll give you two a minute." She raised her brows and widened her eyes as she waltzed out of the room. Tara watched her leave, averting her eyes and blinking uncomfortably when she saw the obscene bruise on her ass…

"Yeah… I know." Jax laughed.

"Is she okay? You know… With Tig?" She had to get it off of her chest now that she saw another sign, the worry had been sitting on her lungs like a paperweight ever since she'd seen the bruises on her chest last week.

"Sydney? Yeah, why?" Jax was surprised that Tara even knew they were together, let alone was concerned over them.

"No reason." She forced a smile. "They're just not what I would expect… The nurse said you wanted to see me?" She changed the subject, not knowing how to elaborate on the sensitive matter after Jax clearly didn't get what she was trying to say the first time.

"Yeah, I was just checking in. You okay?"

"Yeah." Tara nodded, trying to make herself believe it. She would believe it when Kohn was gone. "He assured me that Joshua was leaving. Thanks for… Handling that." Her subconscious choice of words had reminded her what Sydney had told her, to let Jax handle it. Although she knew this wasn't the way anyone had expected him to…

"Hey." Tara greeted Sydney properly as she closed the door to Abel's room behind her, leaving Jax alone with his son.

"Hey." Sydney looked up from the chair she was sitting in, bouncing her leg in anticipation as Tara sat next to her and looked down at her green scrubs. "I didn't tell him, you know." She addressed what she thought was the elephant in the room, not wanting Tara thinking that she'd gone back on her promise.

"I know, it's okay." Tara wasn't angry with her by any means, if anything, she was thankful that the fiery blonde had given her the courage to tell somebody and feel comfortable asking for help. "Hale came to talk to me, told me that Kohn's boss didn't even know he was here. He's leaving."

"Good." Sydney nodded, wondering if it would really just be that easy, it sure hadn't been in her experience with abusive men…

"He can help you too, you know." Tara lowered her voice.

"What?" Sydney shook her head as she was pulled from the vile memories of her childhood.

"Hale. He can help you like he helped me." Her brown eyes were filled with compassion.

"Help me with what?" Sydney wrinkled her brows.

"With Tig…"

"What?" She laughed out loud. "I don't need help with Tig."

"It's okay… You don't have to be ashamed like I was. I saw the…" She nodded to Sydney's thigh.

Sydney couldn't help the smile of amusement that pulled at her face when Tara thought that Tig was hitting her… Even if technically he was. "You got it all wrong doc." She shook her head with a snort. "I promise you, I got Tig handled."

"Syd!" Clay's booming voice came in the nick of time as he and Tig stalked down the hallway, putting a stop to the awkward conversation as Tara's cheeks burned with embarrassment. The idea of a knockout like Sydney being interested in someone as old and as creepy as Tig had been so incomprehensible to the brunette that as soon as she saw the marks, abuse was the only logical explanation in her mind - especially after learning that it ran in Sydney's family. The thought of it just being kinky sex had never occurred to her in the slightest.

"Good to go?" Sydney stood hastily, looking to Tig for an update as Clay went in to get Jax.

Tig smiled politely at Tara - which just ended up looking creepy - as he wrapped his arm around Sydney's shoulders, pulling her close and pressing his lips against her ear. "Bodies were already ID'd." He whispered.

Sydney kept her cool when Tig delivered the potentially threatening news, looking up at him slowly with a raised brow, to which he responded with a nod down the hallway, the pair bidding Tara a farewell.

"I don't know what the feds are gonna do with it. Clay's gonna talk to Lowell, isn't gonna say shit to Jax, we play dumb."

"Got it." She nodded.

Jax sat on the roof of the clubhouse overlooking the compound while he read some of his father's manuscript and smoked a cigarette. He looked up from the worn parchment, squinting in the low sun of the late afternoon as he processed his father's words and their shocking relevance to the recent events.

_Inside the club, there had to be truth. Our word was our honour. But outside, it was all about deception. Lies were our defense, our default. To survive, you had to master the art of perjury. The lie and the truth had to feel the same. But once you learned that skill, nobody knows the truth, in or outside the club. Especially you._

The troubled VP looked down into the garage to see Clay having what looked like an emotional conversation with Lowell, watching the younger man break down and sob into his shoulder. He knew Lowell had always been more than unstable between his substance abuse and the betrayal of his father, but these days the mechanic was doing well and his outbursts were rare, _especially_ if they were unprovoked.

He watched Clay exit the garage and glare up at him from behind his sunglasses, the words repeating themselves in his head. _Inside the club, there had to be truth. Inside the club, there had to be truth. Inside the club, there had to be truth._

"The two bodies were Mayan captains, it _had_ to be SAMCRO." Hale spoke from behind his desk as Stahl entered the room.

"Yeah well, fifteen-year-old Mexican bones give us nothing. Even with DNA, there's no murder weapon. So it's ancient history. The Attorney's Office won't touch it."

"Look at this." Hale pushed further, handing Stahl the report on the positive ID of Lowell Harland Sr.. "Dead mechanic, worked for Teller-Morrow. History of drug abuse, domestic violence. His kid's following in his old man's footsteps… I sent Smith to pick him up."

"Close to SAMCRO?"

"Yes."

"How close?" A devious smile spread across Stahl's face.

"Not sure." Hale's brow creased.

"Any word on Kohn?" She changed the subject when suspicion found it's way onto the face of the good cop.

"He checked out of his hotel, turned in his rental car. He may already be gone." He trailed off as he nodded out the door where his grey-haired colleague was escorting Lowell into the office.

"You uh. You wanted to see me?" Lowell looked between Hale and the older woman in his office, trying to keep his eyes from darting around. He had been fighting the urge for a fix since Clay bombarded him with the news that his old man was dead. Even though he _knew_ that his father had been a bad man and that he and his mother had been better off without him, he'd never gotten over his hope that one day, his dad would come back clean, wanting to make things right. Clay had confirmed that his hope would forever be just that - a hope. He didn't know how to process this other than the one way that he'd always coped: heroin. He shook in the doorway as he thought about the rush, feeling it creep up his veins, making his neck ache with need.

"Yeah, have a seat Lowell." Hale spoke compassionately to the man he'd gone to school with all his life.

Lowell snapped his spinning head towards Hale, blinking a few times as he returned to the moment, wishing he didn't have to. But he didn't have to… If he got high he would _never_ have to... _No._ He couldn't do that. Not when he'd worked so hard, not when Emily was _finally_ letting him take Moby unsupervised.

He sat through the interrogation, trying to hide his shaking hands, almost snapping when a comment about drugs was made by the woman. He tried to remind himself that this is what Clay told him that they would do: try to turn him against the club, fill his head with poison. But everything that they said made so much sense; his dad being dead, knowing too much, being buried with the enemy...

Unser returned to the station from Floyd's where he'd gone to de-stress after his meeting with Clay. He walked into Hale's office where he was met with the unexpected sight of Stahl and Hale talking to a _very_ nervous Lowell.

"What's going on in here?" His question didn't get an answer. "You done with him?" He nodded to Lowell, knowing that this had to have something to do with what Clay talked to him about early.

"For now." Stahl smirked.

"Get outta here, Lowell. Go ahead, go on." He nodded towards the door where Lowell hastily made his exit, Stahl following not long after. "It's bad enough that I gotta see the other one every time I get a hot shave! Now I got Mrs. A.T.F. chewing on my last nerve?"

"When was the last time you saw Kohn?" Hale's brows furrowed when Unser made mention of Kohn.

"I just left him at Floyd's." Hale nodded slowly, not drawing any suspicion as he waited for Unser to leave so that he could get to Floyd's as fast as he could.

Jax stormed into his house after getting a frantic call from his mother than someone had vandalized his son's room. He entered the nursery to see a mess of broken furniture, surveillance photos, and a piss stained carpet.

"Who did this?" Gemma fumed, angrier than usual because this time, Jax's shit was bleeding on to the safety of her grandchild.

"A.T.F." Jax sneered.

"Why?"

"Tara." He let the reason slip without thinking.

"What, why? That stupid bitch…"

"How is this her fault?" Jax defended Tara against his overprotective mother - something he was all too familiar with doing. Gemma kept her mouth shut, she knew that Jax wouldn't agree with her, no matter what she said - even though he _had_ just told her that this _was_ Tara's fault.

Hale stalked towards his wagon when his phone began ringing with a call from Jax. "Yeah, Kohn's still in town." The blonde man's voice came over the line.

"I know. He's at Floyd's. I'm taking care of it." The deputy made the mistake of telling him where Kohn was, the VP speeding off to Floyd's the second that he hung up.

"She's getting under his skin. I can feel it. It's bad for us." Gemma continued to plead her case to Clay about her worries over both Tara _and_ Jax while she tore down the pictures Kohn had put on the wall.

"I'm keepin an eye on it." Clay nodded from where he sat against the changing table. He knew that Gemma may have been right in being concerned, but he wasn't going to give her more reason to worry by admitting it. "I'm not gonna let anything turn Jax away from SAMCRO - especially pussy."

"Well you better watch closer, Tara was at the hospital the whole time." Sydney announced from the doorway of Abel's room, having caught the end of their conversation. Clay scowled even deeper when he was presented with the regretful information that only further proved his wife's point.

"Tara isn't just pussy…" Gemma looked gratefully at Sydney for the inadvertent backup. "He loved her - probably still does. This happened _because_ of her."

"What? How?" Clay didn't understand what _Tara_ had to do with a fed trashing Jax's house.

Sydney felt her heartbeat quicken when somehow, Gemma knew that Tara had a connection to Kohn. Which now meant that _Clay_ knew that Tara had a connection to Kohn. She knew it wasn't what Jax wanted, but she reminded herself that she wasn't the one who told him, therefore Jax had no reason to be upset with her. Plus - after a message like this from Kohn, maybe it was best that the President knew this beef was personal and dangerous.

"Woah…" Tig spoke with wide eyes when he entered the nursery. "Hey, Juice called; Hap's getting back tonight, they're gonna run the guns up to Laroy while we're all at the fights."

Sydney felt another wave of relief when Tig relayed the game plan, confident that the club would be safe from A.T.F. who she knew would be more interested in the higher ranked members who would be attending the _legal_ fights when the gun deal went down.

"Oh and uh… Feds picked up Lowell." He added regrettably. The breakthrough provided Clay a distraction from Tara, much to Gemma's dismay as she stood silently - she wasn't going to let him forget it that easily.

"Shit." Clay sneered, sighing as he pushed himself off of the piece of furniture and walked over to the window where he rested his head on the cold glass. He knew it was going to happen the second that they'd seen the ID tag on the pile of bones in the morgue - that's why he'd told Lowell himself, and warned him of exactly what he knew A.T.F. would tell him. But that did stop his worry that the recovering addict would bow under the pressure.

Tig, Gemma, and Sydney all shared a knowing glance. Of course, Tig and Gemma knew more about just how bad this _really _was, but they were able to easily pass it off as the same worry that she had.

"It's not your fault baby…" Gemma put her hand on Clay's shoulder. "You've been taking care of Lowell since he was sixteen, you've done everything that you could. There's just some shit you can't escape."

"Like father, like son…" Tig surmised, he knew where this was headed. They were going to have to kill Lowell for the same reason that they had to kill his father: because he knew too much.

"Looks like it's going that way." Clay agreed regretfully.

"Got to remember what's important… Big picture." Gemma spoke cryptically, looking from Tig, to her husband.

After a severe reprimanding by Stahl, Kohn had been stripped of his credentials and sent off to a squad car where he would be escorted to the airport, flown back to Illinois, and met by his superiors to face charges for violating the restraining order, as well as _multiple_ federal statutes.

Jax sat through the routine questioning with Unser and Stahl regarding the incident at Floyd's where he'd beaten Kohn, gotten stabbed with a pair of scissors, and then pushed the fed through the window before finishing the beating. He was cleared of any charges in the name of self-defense - thanks to Floyd - which did _not_ sit well with Stahl.

"Tell me. Are they all just afraid of you? Or convinced that you are a necessary evil?"

"You charging me?" Jax knew that they couldn't keep him, getting up to leave where he planned on following Kohn to the airport since he clearly couldn't count on Hale to make sure he was gone.

"Why does Kohn have a hard-on for you?"

"You know why." Jax scoffed when Stahl attempted to keep him in the room.

"You're right. I do. Tara Knowles… High school sweethearts, right?"

"Yup."

"She fears for her life… So she comes back home to the only man that she knows loves her enough to protect her… A guy who would have no problem putting a fed through a plate-glass window…" The conniving woman surmised the events aloud. "That's beautiful - really, it is. I wish I had that kind of pull over someone…"

"You done?" Jax did a good job of making it look like her words hadn't slapped him in the face.

"Yeah. She's done." Unser spoke up, letting Jax get out to his bike where he followed the squad car to the interstate that led to the airport.

Lowell was standing in the middle of the ring at Lumpy's Bare-Knuckle Action with the crowd going wild behind him, the lights glaring in his eyes, his ears ringing from the blow he'd just taken. His shaky hearing was the only way he knew that he'd actually been hit, the effects of the drugs making him immune to any kind of pain - physical _or_ psychological.

"Something's not right with Lowell." Sydney voiced her worry to Chibs and Tig from where they stood at the side of the ring, watching his eyes roll around as he stood still while his opponent took swing after swing. She was all too familiar with the signs of drug use...

"This is _very_ bad." Bobby shook his head. This was only the first fight out of five, there was no way that Lowell was going to make it to the final round to take on Half-Sack…

"We still got money on the prospect… He's doing great." Chibs tried to be the source of positivity, but Sydney and Tig knew what was _really_ going on, and what this could mean - as did Clay from where he sat with his head in his hands on the bleachers.

Lowell hit the ground, shaking and violently sweating out the heroin. His eyes snapped open when he heard the bell ringing and he realized where he was, seeing the faces of the club on the sidelines… The club that killed his father. He jumped up as quick as he could and scurried out of the ring, hurdling over the ropes and pushing through the crowd.

"Lowell, don't!" Clay yelled from his seat, chasing after the liability before anyone else could find him and get to the bottom of things.

Sydney started to panic when not only did Lowell flee and put their secret at risk, but her plan crumbled before her eyes. She knew it wasn't her fault that Lowell was unreliable - they'd all voted on it. But she wasn't eager to give Jax a reason not to trust her, especially after Clay found out that Tara was behind the A.T.F. heat.

She had no choice but to put all of her faith in Half-Sack, watching him as he sat while Chibs towelled him off and Tig squirted water into his mouth. He was looking good, he seemed focused and he'd dominated his five fights, easily making his $15k in winnings - but the whole point of the plan was that the crowds were betting on him, _not _Lowell. Which is why the club had put so much on the scrawny junkie: so that nobody else would share in the pot when Half-Sack went down against him.

The focus was pulled away from her worry when she felt an arm around her shoulders - but the arm wasn't Tig's, because she was looking at him where he stood a few feet away from her. She turned with a scowl to see a short hispanic man holding a beer and a wad of cash.

"How much?" He leaned into her ear.

"Excuse me?"

"How much." He nodded to her chest, his eyes eating up her cleavage.

"Not for sale." She rolled her eyes and ducked under his arm, walking over to Bobby who was keeping an eye on the situation from the sidelines.

"You okay?" He asked when she approached, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the dark haired man who chewed his lip in offense after being turned down by a groupie.

"Yeah." She replied coldly, not being able to think about anything other than that she _needed_ Half-Sack to pull this out for her.

Half-Sack stood in the corner of the ring, hopping from side to side, fired up and eager to see what poor excuse for a fighter he would be taking on in his final fight for the win. His blue eyes nearly popped out of his skull when the tall, muscled hispanic man stepped into the ring. He was at least double his weight, and a solid foot taller than him.

"No, no man. I can't fight this guy." He shook his head at Chibs and Tig who were readying him up in his corner.

"Gotta take him down Kippy, for the club." Tig spoke into the prospect's ear as he jostled his shoulder, smiling menacingly enough for the poor kid to know that he didn't have a choice. "Go get em."

Half-Sack cracked his neck nervously, stepping up to his opponent as the bell sounded. He didn't think he would've been able to beat this guy on a good day, let alone on a day where he was tuckered out from training and the previous five fights he'd won.

Sydney, Tig, and Chibs watched from the side of the ring behind the ropes as the bigger man put Half-Sack through the ringer, practically tossing him around until he got bored, hitting him three times in a row and knocking him to the ground, cheering like an animal when the bell sounded. Sydney squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"Hey, hey it's okay, baby." Tig put his arms around Sydney's shoulders. He knew that Clay would be angry with his rogue fighters, not her - especially after she'd been such a vital source in keeping their secret hidden from Jax.

"Tig we lost $35k because of _my_ idea."

"Doesn't matter. You weren't the one in the ring." He pursed his lips and shook his head. "If you were, maybe we woulda won." He smirked down at her, hoping that a little flattery would _at least_ get her to lose the frown.

A small smile ghosted across Sydney's mouth, chewing the inside of her lip as she looked up at him gratefully before he leaned down to kiss her. The nice moment was ruined however when she felt someone groping her.

"Sure looks like you're for sale." The same man from before nodded towards Tig.

"What the hell?" Tig got ready to lunge but before he could, Sydney's open toed boot kicked him square in the jaw.

All Sydney saw was red. Everything that had transpired throughout this trying day had caught up to her, and she couldn't pass up the opportunity to work some of it out. As soon as the man looked back in shock with his mouth dripping blood, she leant down and leveraged herself on his shoulders as she pushed him back, securing herself a soft landing from the raised ring. The man's head hit the pavement _hard_, making him too delirious to fight back as she straddled his chest and swung her fists into his face while the thick crowds went wild around her, enjoying the bonus fight.

Tig pulled her off once he noticed that the man had stopped squirming beneath her. "He's done, he's done." He repeated soothingly as he stood against her thrashing, using his voice and relaxed body to ground her as rage coursed through her veins.

Jax had skipped the fights after he followed Kohn out of town. He rode around town for hours, trying desperately to clear his messy head. Eventually, he found himself on Tara's doorstep, waiting for her to arrive home. He tried to tell himself that he didn't know why he'd gone there, but he knew exactly why. He needed to know if what Stahl had told him was the truth.

Tara pulled into her driveway to see Jax smoking a cigarette on the front stoop with his hood up. "Jesus christ, are you okay?" She hurried out of her car and crouched next to Jax who she'd been trying to get a hold of all afternoon. "Hale told me what happened…"

"Yeah… Kohn's gone, I watched him leave town." Tara wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. She felt appreciation, but there was still _something_ telling her that this wasn't over - that what he'd done wasn't enough.

"Thank you." She placed her hand on his knee and rested her forehead against his.

The anti-climactic reaction only further fuelled Jax's worry that Stahl had been right… He pulled his head away, turning to look into her eyes, hoping that she would give him the truth.

"What is it?"

"You left Chicago because you were afraid this guy was gonna hurt you." Tara paused, she'd never been good at hiding her feelings on the spot.

"One of the reasons…"

"Did you come back here because you knew I'd hurt this guy? Do what the cops wouldn't do?"

"God… No." She spoke as sincerely as possible. It wasn't exactly a lie - she'd been living under her happy little umbrella of ignorance before Sydney had yanked the subconscious thought right out of her. _Sydney. _"Who told you that?"

Jax looked away, rocking with his arms around his knees. He'd hoped that she would be shocked over his accusation; try desperately to convince him that he was reaching far beyond reality, but instead he got a high pitched denial and concern over who put the idea in his head.

"Well, you can sleep now." He got to his feet, leaving Tara in the dark now that she was safe.

"Maybe we shoulda entered you to fight." Clay joked with a raised brow once Sydney and the others emerged - having seen the beating she threw the asshole from where he stood by the door.

"I thought that mighta been too much of a gamble but…" She tilted her head and widened her eyes, referring to the absolute trainwreck that their plan had turned to.

"Clay, I'm really sorry…" Half-Sack began apologizing, but the President wasn't having it. He turned away from the grovelling prospect and walked towards the van. He wasn't going to chew the kid out - he didn't have the energy. It wasn't his fault or his idea, nor did he have any say in the matter, but he wasn't going to let him think that he was getting let off easily either - if he could milk him for some guilt that pushed him to do some extra favors for the club, he was going to.

"What happened with Lowell?" Bobby questioned.

"Got spooked, took off." Sydney and Tig both knew by the way that Clay brushed it off so casually, that he had killed him - eliminated the threat.

"You better do the same." Tig nodded to the prospect. "Go on. Get outta here, before I rape both of ya."

"And I film it." Sydney chimed in with her arms crossed, standing next to Tig like a cartoon sidekick.

"Tig!" Bobby scolded.

"What? Come on, it's just an expression - a term of endearment." Bobby and Chibs headed off with Half-Sack as Tig tried to explain his twisted comment.

"You two aren't gonna be filmin much of anything…" Clay informed, bringing them to the sliding door of the van where he opened it to reveal Lowell laying on a blanket, shakily coming down from his high. The pair looked up at Clay with both shock and confusion.

"He's a good mechanic." He sighed.

* * *

**Some of Clay's true colours begin to show 👀**


	38. Ride

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 38 - RIDE**

It'd been a couple of days since the finding of Lowell Sr.'s body had unearthed _a_ _lot_ more than just old bones. Sydney and Tig had successfully gotten Lowell Jr. off to Oregon where he would receive some good old fashioned M.C. rehab, but that only took care of _one_ of Clay's many worries. Weighing in at the top of the list today was how they were going to get enough cash to pay McKeevy after the bust at the fights. Their chances to come up with $45k in two days were looking slim while they had the feds up their asses, and no alternative earning tactics.

Jax was on his way to the clubhouse from the hospital. Lately, he'd found that the combination of seeing his son and the peaceful ride had helped to calm the raging storms of confusion that clouded his mind. Everything just felt wrong these days. If things were quiet in the club, they were loud somewhere else. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something around the corner, something lurking in the shadows, something waiting to be uncovered…

The VP's brow creased when he rounded a bend to see a truck pulled to the side of the road. He stood as he rode closer, trying to get a look at what was going on when he realized that there had been a bad accident with one of Oswald's drivers.

He screeched to a stop next to the tanker, ripping off his helmet and searching the small group of onlookers for someone who could help him with the driver who was laid across the hood of the truck, impaled on the broken glass of the windshield.

Once Jax found a suitable assistant, he climbed into the driver's seat where he lifted the injured man's leg, helping get him down to the EMT's who had just arrived on the scene. He grimaced as he watched the trucker squeal in pain as his leg squirted blood, looking away from the gruesome sight. He pulled off his sunglasses to wipe them clean on the seat next to him, making to slide them back on when he saw what likely caused the crash… A bag of crystal laying by the brake pedal. He looked around, being sure that no one had seen it before he swiped it. He knew that this could only mean one thing.

"This is definitely Darby's shit." Juice nodded as he held up the bag to everyone who stood around the bar while Jax stood in his wifebeater, washing his hands free of the blood from the accident. "This rock's been stepped on so many times, it's barely a narcotic."

"See. Darby's making his move into Charming." Tig tried once again to convince his crew that Darby _needed_ to be handled, and not in the pussy way that Jax had convinced them of before. "Clay, we need to send this Nazi asshole a _clear_ message now."

"Alright." Jax interrupted the impulsive Sergeant before he could send everybody into a tirade without knowing all of the facts. "Why don't we just go talk to the driver. Ask him where he bought the meth."

Tig looked over his shoulder incredulously from where he leant on the bartop, he couldn't believe that the pretty little prince was _really_ going to try and play the 'good cop' angle once again when it had so clearly backfired the last time.

Clay looked between his left and right hand. "Go." He nodded to Jax before hanging his head in disapproval.

Jax looked smugly at Tig when he got his way, sharing his smirk with Opie before yanking his kutte out from under Tig's arm, waltzing out while the Sergeant stared him down.

"Check your fucking attitude." He heard from behind him, recognizing the cocky voice all too well...

Sydney couldn't help herself. She knew that she was playing with fire - calling him out over something seemingly so small, but the list of times that the VP blatantly disrespected anyone who didn't share in his opinion was growing far longer than her ability to bite her tongue could handle, and that wasn't what this club was about.

"Excuse me?" Jax puffed out his chest, handing his kutte to Opie whose smirk fell as he watched his friend walk up on the little girl.

"I said," She walked up to him with the same confidence. "When your bullshit plan landed us here in the first place, we have the right to tell you to sit the fuck down. This is a democracy, decisions affect all of us. If you want something done your way, call a vote" They stood toe to toe, her white cork wedges bringing her to a height that almost had their noses touching.

"Those are some big words from a little girl with nothing more than a dead daddy to vouch for her." Jax surprised himself with the vile words, realizing that the cost of acting without violence was apparently his common decency.

"And those are some low blows from a little boy who doesn't realize that he aint so different…" She shook her head slowly, speaking in a raspy mock-pout before tilting her head to the side. "Do you hear how you sound when you speak to people, Jackson?" She quirked a brow, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Because they do…" She nodded to the group of silent men behind her. "You might wanna think about that." She cocked her brows.

He glared at her with his chest heaving, wrestling with what his instinct was telling him to do, and what his father would do in the same situation - the two were complete opposites. He told himself over and over that she just wanted a reaction, that she wanted him to hit her in front of everyone - which was the only thing that stopped him.

"Get outta here!" Clay hollered when he saw the confrontation rolling steadily down the clear path of escalation. "Go!"

Opie grabbed Jax's arm, yanking him away from Sydney who stood her ground with a smirk. The VP shook his head as he pulled himself from his best friend's grasp and stalked out of the clubhouse, ignoring Tig's icy eyes on him.

Sydney took a deep breath, composing herself as she turned around with a cheerful smile and returned to her spot at the bar between Clay and Tig as everyone stared at her with furrowed brows.

"Why're you letting him go, Clay?" Tig squinted and shook his head in confusion.

"I got other shit to worry about. If he wants to play boy scout, let him!" The President yelled.

"That stupid bitch." Jax spit onto the pavement as soon as they stepped out of the clubhouse.

"She's just trying to earn her way in, man. Prove that she has the balls."

"Yeah well, questioning and officer aint the way to do that." Jax chewed the inside of his cheek as he strapped his helmet.

"I don't need to tell you how that sounds..."

"You think I'm trying to go against Clay?" The angry VP seethed at the indirect accusation.

"Just calling it like I see it, brother." He shrugged. The fact that the shorter man had come to the conclusion on his own, had told Opie everything that he needed to know.

"She give you a taste of that pussy too?" Jax scoffed, surprised that _Opie_ of all people would be the one to defend _them_, firing up his bike and driving off towards the hospital - not caring if his partner followed him or not.

Sydney and Tig spent the busy Friday at work before the day finally came to a close. They'd been anticipating a night of partying, but after this morning they figured that wouldn't be happening. So instead they sat at a picnic table on the compound in the warm summer air with a bowl of strawberries and a bottle of tequila, trying to ignore the frustrations of the club.

"You're not fooling me, you know." Sydney looked at Tig from across the table with a raised brow and a small smirk.

"What d'ya mean?" He feigned innocence as she looked between him and his untouched berries.

"You need to eat something without an alcohol percentage." She chortled, taking her bare feet off of his lap from under the table.

"I did eat, babe." He nodded, knowing full well that he hadn't eaten a damn thing today.

"You said you liked strawberries." She pouted before wrapping her lips around a berry, sinking her teeth into it and letting the juice dribble down her chin.

"No, I said I like that _you _taste like strawberries." He shot her a wolfish grin. "Come here." He nodded to his side of the table.

"Nu-uh…" She caught the stray drip with her thumb, shaking her head with a devious smile as she sucked on her digit.

"Okay, okay _fine._ You come sit with me, I'll eat."

Sydney bit her lip and squinted, reluctantly getting up and making her way over to where he sat sideways with his arms out. She didn't sit down though, grabbing a strawberry and holding it to his mouth.

"Come on-"

"Nope." She cut off his whining. "You said you would eat. Open up."

Tig sighed, opening his mouth so that she could feed him, almost choking when she shoved her fingers down his throat in the process.

She cackled when his eyes widened in surprise, waiting until she was satisfied that he had swallowed to sit sideways on his lap, taking a swig of tequila.

Tig felt relief wash over him once she was close; her warm skin soothing his boiling blood and her sweet scent calming his racing mind. He wrapped his arm around her waist, squeezing her hip appreciatively while his other hand rested between her thighs underneath her peach coloured dress.

Sydney's body tingled under his strong hands holding her protectively. She slid another strawberry into her mouth before resting her head against his chest, looking up at him as her lazy eyes roamed over his neck, his jaw, his mouth - seeing him grinding his teeth and staring off in the distance.

"Cheer up, Tiggy." She pouted, caressing his neck with her fingertips as she inhaled his scent.

Tig snapped out of it, looking down to see her moistened lips in a frown. "I'm sorry baby." He shook his head and tightened his grip on her. He felt bad to be taking a moment like this for granted: a moment where she was in his lap, gawking at him with his hand under her dress - a moment he would've only dreamt of a few months ago, a moment that his mind wouldn't let him enjoy.

"I think I can forgive you." She spoke against his neck, dragging her tongue over the vein and lightly nipping at his skin before moving her lips to his ear. "Now eat." She grinned before biting his ear lobe.

Tig felt a smile pulling at his lips and his dick twitching in his pants when her cold lips grazed his skin. "Gimme one." He nodded to the bowl and reached for the bottle of tequila.

Sydney grabbed a strawberry and fed it to him nicely this time, hooking her fingers onto his lip as she slid them out of his mouth before placing them into her own, peering at him through her eyelashes as she licked them clean.

Tig growled at the erotic sight, taking a swig from the bottle before he tilted her head back and spat it into her mouth, letting her swallow before he descended his lips on hers, stroking her jaw while his tongue devoured her fruity, tequila flavoured mouth.

"You're so fucking sexy." Sydney moaned, feeling her intoxication level double when he kissed her so slowly and sensually, holding onto his neck while his hand returned between her thighs, his fingertips just barely grazing against her panties.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips.

"I love you." She nodded, staring dreamily into that crystal blue abyss before he pulled her back upright to rest against his chest.

"Mmm, I should've got some champagne." She joked as she picked up another berry, realizing that alcohol was the only way to get him to eat some damn fruit.

"There's not much to celebrate right now, doll." He spoke dismally with a grimace, picking at the peeling paint on the picnic table.

"Looks like that's about to change…" She drew out as she watched Half-Sack driving onto the lot in his new ride with Juice trailing behind in the tow, sharing a look of confusion before going to investigate.

"So you stole an ambulance?" Juice was startled by Tig's voice, turning around to see the Sergeant looking at him incredulously as he closed the bay doors to the garage, concealing the stolen vehicle.

"I had _nothing _to do with this." The Puerto Rican man shook his head rapidly and pointed the blame to the prospect.

"Yeah." Half-Sack nodded smugly, leaning against his prize.

Sydney snickered at his obliviousness from where she sat by the row of toolboxes. If there was anything that could be said about Kip, it was that he was amusing.

"These things are worth like, a hundred grand, easy."

"Yeah, they are." Clay entered the garage. "That's why the people who buy them are like… Federal agencies and shit."

"Okay." Half-Sack nodded, glad that Clay knew the kind of market to sell one of these things, that crossed the next thing off of his to-do list.

"So… You want him to sell a stolen vehicle to the government?" Sydney surmised with a smirk, making everybody laugh as Half-Sack's face fell.

"Oh. Uh, just like… Sell it to a small hospital or somethin then." He tried to remain composed, _sure_ that this could still be favorable for the club.

"Oh like uh… Uncle Freddy's infirmary? Or what?"

"Why don't you steal a fire engine? And then we could have our own rescue center!" Tig mocked him.

"Okay, okay. I get it. I was just tryin to, you know… Show a little initiative."

"Hey Chibs." Clay laughed along with everyone else. He hadn't been able to grin this big in a while, and for that he was thankful. "Drive this around back as soon as it gets dark."

"You got it." Chibs snickered, turning towards the bay door as it slid up, revealing Jax.

"What the hell is this?" The VP scowled when he saw an ambulance taking up half of the garage.

"My prospect." Chibs beamed with his arm around Half-Sack's shoulders.

"Just, you know, thinking outside of the box."

"You get a chance to talk to that tanker driver?" Clay asked.

"Yeah, Nords aren't dealing in town." He stared at Sydney and Tig as he spoke smugly. "Driver bought the crank up in Pope, that's where he filled his tanker up with diesel." Tig ground his teeth while Sydney stood, unblinking. "That I just sold to Unser for $15k." The VP pulled a stack of cash out of his pocket, provoking a round of applause.

"My brother." Clay hugged his VP gratefully while Tig looked away bitterly and took a swig of beer.

Happy woke up in an unfamiliar room the next day, taking a minute to recognize his surroundings. Since Sydney and Tig had made up, the ravenous couple had made the last few nights in his dorm unbearable. He'd made the impulse decision in the middle of the night to move into Jax's old dorm down the hall - leaving his usual one vacant next to Tig's.

The bald man emerged in search of some much needed coffee. He completed the shorter walk from the new room to the kitchen where he crossed the threshold, scratching his head before he looked up to see Sydney standing by the coffee pot in her pyjamas, a sight he used to wake up to every day.

"Mornin." She greeted with a smirk as she looked at him where he stood shirtless and barefoot, clothed in only a pair of basketball shorts.

"Didn't think you'd be up." He grunted.

"Why'd you move dorms?" She asked with a slight pout in her voice.

"Same reason I didn't think you'd be up." He pushed past her and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I thought you'd be happy for me." She jutted out her lower lip and widened her eyes, swaying in her pink fuzzy slippers.

"Think I liked it better when you were fighting." He scoffed, his expression staying in the same hard-set grimace as he stared into the cup of steaming black liquid.

Sydney chortled and sipped the last of her coffee before placing her mug in the sink and turning to leave, sensing that he wasn't in the mood for her shit so early in the morning after being kept up all night.

"Shouldn't wear shit like that around here if you want them to take you seriously." Happy nodded to her tiny black shorts and a tank top before turning back to his coffee.

Sydney rolled her eyes, she didn't think that her and Tig had been _nearly_ loud enough for him to be taking such cheap shots.

She sauntered up to where he stood bracing himself on the countertop, pressing herself against his side as her fingertips danced over his chest, turning him to face her. "You take me seriously though, don't you Hap?" She rasped, dragging her thumb across the word 'FAMILY' tattooed on his chest - if he wanted to play dirty, she was game.

Happy recoiled harshly from her gentle touch which he knew to be anything but, knocking over his coffee in frustration. He didn't bother cleaning up his mess before storming out of the kitchen. He would be getting his coffee from the diner today.

Even after Sydney had gone above and beyond to distract Tig from Jax's bullshit for the night, he was still pissed as he walked through the chapel doors, not eager to face whatever bullshit the VP would ruin his morning with today.

Clay had managed to pick up a job for the club from Trammel for some extra cash during their pinch for McKeevy: destroy a Mayans heroin packing site just outside of Lodi.

"Is this gonna set off shit with the Mayans?" Sydney questioned, this was not a no-name independent cooker - this was their biggest rival who they currently had unsettled beef with.

"Not as long as we do it right." Clay smirked.

"And what does that mean?" His gaze snapped towards Jax, but Tig answered before he could.

"It means that we leave no witnesses."

Clay took a deep breath when the table fell silent and he watched Tig and Jax stare each other down. He didn't have the strength to indulge Jax's doubts and worries anymore - he had his own to think about.

"Monday morning when the place is empty, before you two drive the guns up." He looked between Tig and Juice, hoping that the anticipation of an empty building would keep Jax quiet so that he could relay the rest of the intel. "Trammel's gonna front us the cash, $5k. We still need twenty-five more… That's twenty-five that we _would've_ had if it weren't for Jury!" He slammed his fist against the table.

"This aint Jury's fault." Jax shook his head.

"You're right. If you woulda managed to get up there the first time, we would already have that cash!"

"It was never my idea to sell him guns." Jax looked right at Sydney. "So how about you start lookin around the table for someone to blame who aint me." He snarled, turning his attention back to his stepfather. "What about your little fighting gig? You never told us what happened with that."

Jax had been suspicious of the incident ever since Lowell took off after the fights. All he could think about was that conversation he'd witnessed in the garage, and then Lowell being picked up by the feds for whatever reason…

"Lowell was a junkie!"

"He was doing good." Jax shook his head. "Showing up to work, taking care of Moby… He wouldn't throw that away just to go back to the needle without a good reason."

"Lowell's always had issues." Bobby tried to calm him.

"A grilling from the feds on a recovering addict is a pretty damn good reason to me." Sydney shook her head.

"You know what they say; like father, like son." Tig agreed.

"Yeah… I guess you'd know all about that." Jax looked between Sydney, Tig, and Clay before he stormed out, leaving a table of nervous brothers in his wake.

"That for Clay?" Bobby nodded to the Budweiser and plate of nachos in Sydney's hand.

"Yeah. Figured he might be getting bored of me riding his cock. Gotta switch it up a little." She shrugged with a smile before Bobby began laughing huskily, passing him and heading to the chapel.

Clay was sitting at the head of the empty table with his head hung and the gavel in his hand. "Hey." He looked up at the sound of the perky voice, unable to keep the smile off of his face when he looked up to see Sydney slipping through the doors.

"Hey, Princess." He smiled.

"You okay?" She set the peace offering down on the table in front of him.

"Ah." He shrugged. "Just a rough patch, we'll come out on the other side."

"Damn right we will." She nodded with a small smile. "Do you think I could borrow Tig for the day? I promise it'll be worth your while."

"And how exactly will you getting that tight little pussy pounded all day long, be worth my while?"

"I guess you're just gonna have to find out." She mused with a playful smile.

"This what you're buttering me up for?"

"My daddy always taught me not to beg empty handed." She winked.

"Smart man." He chuckled.

"We can consider it payback for the other day." Clay raised a brow when she got testy, only to be met by her devilish smirk as she stood from the table.

"I'll bring him back in a better mood." She called over her shoulder, not waiting for an answer as she went to collect Tig from where he sat brooding at the bar with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other.

"You're comin with me, I got an idea." She grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door before he could protest.

Jax found himself getting more and more engrossed in his father's manuscript. He couldn't tell if it was the disconnect from the club pushing him closer to his father's concerns for the legacy that he built, or his father's concerns for the legacy that he built, disconnecting him from the club.

_Einstein said that any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. But it takes a touch of genius and lots of courage to move something in the opposite direction. I'm realizing that my touch of genius, and my courage are coming too little, too late. And I fear that for SAMCRO… There may be no opposite direction. _

He nodded as he read the words, soaking up their true meaning, understanding exactly what his dad was talking about, because nothing had changed since he wrote these words. He had been right, because if there _was_ an opposite direction for SAMCRO, they would've found it already.

"Come on Tiggy, at least _pretend _you're interested in where we're going." Sydney pouted as Tig begrudgingly sat in the passenger seat with a permanent frown as they rolled through the hills of Northern Cali. He hadn't said a word since they'd begun the drive almost an hour ago.

"Sorry." He apologized half-heartedly, looking out the window as they passed a welcome sign for Roseville, his mind reverting back to Jax.

"You gotta ditch that attitude for what I got in store." She warned.

Tig turned to her with a raised brow. "What are we-" He trailed off once he caught sight of where they were going.

The giant race track of the All American Speedway spilled out before their eyes as Sydney drove up to the admissions booth, the smell of burning rubber and the sound of cheering crowds filling the car.

"Sydney Harding." She reported to the track worker sweetly, looking at Tig with a giddy smile while they waited for their instructions.

"Alright, you're booked in at the blue track for two hours. I can get the car in for the first race on that track if you wanna give me your entry fee here, or you can try out some of the other ones - just have to wait in line." The overweight man explained, pointing out the separate drag strips around the grounds opposite to the NASCAR track.

"Nah, we'll start at the blue." Sydney pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket and handed it to the man, driving over to the track where they were expected once she received her number for the dashboard.

"We're racing?" Tig's face lit up like a christmas tree before reality hit him, trying to maintain his expression long enough for it to fall naturally so that she wouldn't question it. Never in a million years would he have guessed that _this_ was what she'd planned for the day, and it made him feel like the biggest piece of shit on the planet for letting her treat him like a king when he hadn't been able to appreciate any of it.

"Nope." She pulled up the parking brake and took the keys out of the ignition, tossing them to Tig who had a look of confusion on his face. "You are." She cocked a brow and smiled as she got out of the car and pulled the red bandana out of her hair, letting her long locks cascade down her back as she strutted towards the starting line.

Tig grinned as he watched her walk to the middle of the race track with her bandana in hand, realizing what it was that she was doing with her legs on display in the tiny denim shorts and her tits out in the black top - a sight that was enough to silence his conscience for now. He shook his head, unable to stop smiling as he moved to the driver's seat and rolled up to the starting line.

Sydney grinned at Tig from where she stood between the two cars, signalling for the racers to drive up, waving the bandana above her head when they came to a stop and began revving their engines. She tossed Tig a wink right before she dropped to her knees, signaling the start of the race.

Tig took off half a second late, being too distracted by Sydney but he quickly recovered, maneuvering through the gears and taking over the stock Nissan GTR that he was racing against with ease. He grinned when he crossed the finish line after the quarter-mile, smacking the top of the steering wheel as a rush of adrenaline hit him.

Sydney spent her two hours as the flag girl while Tig raced, watching him with pride. Once she was relieved of her duties, the pair spent the remainder of the afternoon dominating the All American Speedway. They'd lost a few, but Sydney's hefty pile of SAMCRO earnings from the last two months had made it easy for them to recover. By the end of the day, they had managed to quadruple the amount of money they'd come with, including her payout for directing the racers.

"I believe that we are," Sydney announced as she counted the cash, dramatically placing the final bill into the pile while the sun set behind the Roseville hills and her and Tig sat on the hood of her car on a dirt road not far from the race track. "Flush for the Irish." She grinned.

"You did this for the club…" Tig's brows knit when he realized not only how much they'd made, but that she had risked _thousands_ of her own dollars for this - which made him feel a little better about being so distracted from her efforts, knowing that this was to help the club and wasn't just about him.

"You didn't think it was _just_ about havin fun, did ya?" She grinned as she hopped off of the car, leaning into her open window where she stored the two rolls of cash in the cupholders and pulled a joint from the glovebox.

"Here I was thinkin you just wanted to spoil me." Tig winked, leaning back against the windshield.

"Well, that was just a bonus." She smiled, settling against his side and sparking up the marijuana, watching the smoke drift into the darkening sky.

"You're amazing… Thank you." Tig spoke in awe. He'd needed this: a day away, but he knew that the club needed him more - Sydney had somehow managed to find a way to let him have both.

"You're welcome baby." She smiled, handing over the joint where she watched him bring it to his lips, inhaling and squinting as the wave of relaxation rolled over him. "Can I ask you something?"

If it weren't for the effects of the weed, Tig likely would've gone into panic mode over that question. He looked down at her and nodded wearily, tracing her collarbone with his fingertips as if his touch would've stopped her from asking whatever dreaded question she had for him.

"Why didn't Clay kill Lowell?" She asked gently. She'd been wondering ever since they saw him lying in the back of the van. He was a liability, possibly even more than his father had been - who'd been killed for the simple fact. She couldn't understand why Clay would risk keeping him alive to rat to the feds, or worse - the club.

Tig felt relief wash over him even though he hadn't realized he had tensed up, taking another hit before he had to answer. "Couldn't do it I guess…" He'd been wondering the same thing, although he obviously knew the situation better than Sydney, knew that Clay harboured guilt over why Lowell Sr. was _really_ killed, which was why he'd taken Lowell in as his own after it happened.

"That doesn't sound like Clay." Sydney's brows knit.

"When Lowell found out his dad was… Gone." Tig chose his words in a way that made the memory less uncomfortable. "Clay took him in. Taught him how to turn wrenches, gave him a job at TM, got him through school."

"I guess Clay never had any of his own kids." She surmised, the reasoning for his mercy making more sense now.

"Jax never really accepted him as a father." He nodded. "I remember one time, we took Lowell out to learn to drive. Neither of us had anything to teach him in and Gemma wouldn't let us use her car, so Clay had to teach him in the El Camino." Tig laughed at the memory of the scrawny teeanger behind the wheel of Clay's beloved car. The President had looked more terrified that day than Tig had ever seen him. "We used to race that car actually, back in the day. Me, Clay, JT…" He trailed off.

Sydney smiled as he recited the happy memory, but her smile began to fade when a wave of sadness punched her in the heart. He had so many memories, happy and sad, that she would never be a part of.

"You've lived a whole life without me." She stated glumly, looking down at his hand with a sad smile where she was tracing his silver cross ring.

"And you haven't without me?"

"Only half as long." She remarked with a playful smile.

"You sayin you wish you were my age?" He teased with a raised brow.

"No." She chuckled. "Just that we'd met sooner…"

"If we met any sooner, I'd have gotten myself a death wish, and an orange jumpsuit." He kept the mood light. Of course he wished that she'd been a larger part of his life, but letting himself think about that would've been the real death wish.

"Woulda been worth it…" She smirked.

"Hell yeah it would've" He laughed, bringing her closer and leaning down to kiss her.

Tig laid with his hands folded behind his head which rested against the headboard of his bed, staring blankly at the TV.

"You gonna turn that on?" Sydney looked at the black screen with a raised brow as she stood next to the bed, removing her necklace.

"Nah, tired." He explained, blinking a few times for believability before she climbed into bed and he pulled her to lay across his chest, reaching over and turning the lamp off.

Tig lay awake, staring at the ceiling fan as Sydney's words from earlier played over and over in his mind in a melody that his demons couldn't get enough of. _You've lived a whole life without me. You've lived a whole life without me. You've lived a whole life witho-. _The rhythm was cut off by her stirring against his chest.

"You okay baby?" He whispered, brushing her hair behind her ear so that he could see her face.

"Mhmm." She hummed in content, inhaling the soothing scent of rain - a rare bliss in California. "It's raining." She smiled without opening her eyes, listening to the peaceful drizzle outside the window at the early hour.

"Yeah, it is." Tig nodded, feeling his heart shrinking in his chest. He tightened his fist around her hair, trying so desperately to fight off tears, using up all of his strength until he eventually fell asleep.

* * *

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**You Shook Me All Night Long - ACDC **_

_**Cola - Lana Del Rey**_


	39. Hit

**I just wanted to say thank you for all of the love lately! Thank you for reading, liking and commenting. I hope you all know I re-read every comment a billion times because they absolutely make my day 😭**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 39: HIT**

"Hey, uh…" Tig approached Sydney awkwardly. "Y-you're on the pill, right?" He didn't know shit about birth control, if he had - he probably wouldn't have two kids. But what he _did_ know about were condoms - and that they weren't using any.

"You've been raw-dogging me for weeks and _now_ you're concerned?" She scoffed, not looking up from the mirror where she was gathering her hair into a half-up, half-down ponytail.

Tig looked down, not knowing how to respond in a way that told her that he was serious, without the possibility of offending her. Never in his life had he been the one to have to initiate a conversation like this, he'd hardly ever been with anyone long enough to even _warrant_ a conversation like this - not even the mother of his children. Colleen had been a mistake; the result of a drunken night with a croweater he'd gotten a little too comfortable with. It was an easy mistake that landed him the lifelong guilt of tainting two innocent lives forever - an easy mistake that he couldn't handle making twice.

Sydney stopped her movements and dropped her hand dramatically, releasing a handful of white-blonde hair and turning to face him. "I'm not some patch chaser trying to trap you." She scoffed.

Tig looked up with wide eyes when she spit the bitter words at him, his expression softening when he saw her biting her lip in a devious smile and trying not to laugh, looking back down and laughing half-heartedly.

"Seeing that baby didn't give me any ideas. Don't worry." She assured him, rolling her eyes playfully.

Sydney stalked down the hallway towards the chapel with a giant grin on her face. She couldn't wait to trump Jax's 'heroic act' and measly $15k to put towards their debt, with her creativity that had earned enough to pay it off.

"There's no way McKeevy aint gonna be delayed?" Clay sighed wishfully, rubbing his forehead.

"The Irish are alotta things… Late isn't one of em." Chibs shook his head regretfully.

"How the hell are we gonna come up with $25k in the next nine hours…"

Sydney saw Half-Sack uncomfortably sink in his seat out of the corner of her eye. "Well… There is one way." All eyes landed on her where she sat with her hands in the pockets of her dark hoodie. "But you boys would have to ask real nicely." She grinned evilly.

"What do you mean?" Clay wasn't surprised that she'd managed to come up with something, but he had no clue what it could possibly be.

"I told you that yesterday would be worth your while…" She mused with innocent eyes as she began pulling stacks of bills from under her bulky garment, slamming them down on the table while smirking cockily at Jax.

"Nah…" A grin spread across Clay's face when his eyes laid on the last of the cash that they so desperately needed, a round of applause following his realization. He beamed from the head of the table, feeling that a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. That was until he glanced to his left, and then to his right, then looking around the table at his whole crew who were celebrating the victory… The victory that was achieved by the _one _person sitting in the room who'd had no obligation to obtain it.

"You tryin to buy yourself a patch?" Jax scoffed once the cheering died down.

"Consider it an _investment_." She smiled sarcastically before the chapel fell silent, anticipating another argument between the prince and princess.

"So, nobody's gonna ask where it came from?" Tig broke the ice, looking around the table with a raised brow.

"No." Everybody answered in unison, not wanting to delve into the possibilities of what Tig and Sydney had done for that kind of cash.

Clay forced a chuckle, getting back to business. "We got that job for Trammel tomorrow morning. Don't gotta worry about local cops, and if we get outta here early enough - we can slip past the feds. Trammel wants this place wiped off the map, any volunteers for pyro?"

Jax tensed, remembering the last time Opie was offered for explosives and how Donna had lost her mind over it. He kept his mouth shut while he wrestled with the internal conflict. He'd pushed so hard for Opie to jump back into SAMCRO, but now his heart was telling him to protect his best friend from everything that he was currently in fear of...

"Yeah, I got it." Bobby raised his hand.

Sydney nodded along with everyone else, but she hadn't missed the twitch in Jax's neck when pyro was mentioned. "What about Ope? I never got to see all that shit that he's _so_ good at blowing up…" She slid her necklace across the chain, looking menacingly at Jax while Bobby raised a brow and Tig's eyes widened. "He's trying to prove that he's back in, right?"

"What do you think, VP?" Clay smirked, knowing that Jax couldn't say no because if he did, it would not only reveal his broken loyalty - but Opie's as well.

"I'll call him." His jaw set harshly as he stared Sydney down from where she sat across from him.

"We get outta here at 9:00 am tomorrow morning. As for tonight, Unser's got all the info for you two on the truck." Clay looked between Tig and Juice. "Go when it gets dark, take it to the warehouse, load up the barrels. Princess, you're comin with me and Chibs to drop off McKeevy's cash."

Jax and Sydney shared a panicked glance when Clay mentioned the oil barrels, temporarily tabling their standoff. "I thought we weren't using the barrels?" Sydney questioned before Jax could - knowing that Clay only would've seen it as another sign of treason.

"Unser's not reporting the truck stolen until we're done with it, it doesn't matter. We take our drums and leave it on the side of the road."

"It's not the stolen truck that we need to worry about." She pressed further. "The feds are looking for _anything _to get them probable cause." She shook her head. "Transporting petroleum over state lines is illegal, transporting car parts isn't. We use the crates, give them no reason to think twice. There's no harm in being too careful."

Clay didn't enjoy the shower of bullets that his leadership was continuing to take, but she had a point and she _had _just saved their business - if he agreed with her, maybe it would help stop any future suspicions that would likely arise from his growing power struggle with Jax, about him being an unreasonable leader. "Pack em up." He nodded over his shoulder to Half-Sack who scurried out of the chapel to get the job done.

"Thank you." Jax mumbled to Sydney out of the corner of his mouth as they exited the chapel.

"Don't thank me yet." She scoffed, turning sharply down the hallway.

"Thought you said you need Jax to trust you?" Tig asked from the edge of his bed with a raised brow.

"Needed." She corrected, unclasping her necklace and placing it on the nightstand before beginning to strip down. "That's over now."

Tig stood, rounding the bed until he was in front of her, grabbing her hands and stopping her from removing the sports bra she'd been wearing underneath the oversized garment.

"You told me that we can't bring personal shit to the table, that we can't judge him if we do the same thing." He looked sincerely into her eyes.

"You think this is personal?" She went on the defence. "There aint nothing personal about it. If he wants to keep suggesting that he doesn't give a shit about this club, I'm gonna keep making him prove that he doesn't." She spoke with finality, turning away and closing the bathroom door behind her.

It'd finally stopped raining by the time that darkness descended and Sydney, Chibs and Clay were headed off to the warehouse to meet McKeevy, pay their debt, and confirm their next delivery.

"Guess you're gonna need that." Jax whipped the small duffle bag of cash at Clay.

"Guess I will." The President smiled sarcastically, knowing that Jax was just jealous that he hadn't been the one to save the day after all.

Sydney raised a brow and chewed the inside of her lip as she watched Jax pout, pulling on her helmet with a smirk before firing up her Ninja and leaving the VP in her wake.

Just as Chibs had said, McKeevy arrived right on schedule, and with a better attitude than last time. The Irishman was clearly surprised to see that their bluff hadn't ended up being a bluff at all as he accepted the black bag of cash with wide eyes.

"I'll be back down next Sunday, meet at the ports with the barrels as usual." He nodded.

"Eh…" Clay hesitated, remembering what Sydney had said about the barrels but not wanting to get into another altercation with the foreigner after he had narrowly escaped the last one.

"We've come across an issue with the oil barrels." Sydney interected, looking at Clay tentatively as she spoke to McKeevy who had a brow creased in concern. Clay didn't say anything, just blinked his approval for her to put whatever excuse she'd come up with, to use. "A couple of survivalist groups out in forest bunkers off of the highway, they've been giving us some trouble for the oil… Need it for their generators I guess."

"Is this a problem?" McKeevy looked to Clay for an answer.

"No sir." Sydney stole his attention back. "We've come up with a new method of transport." She gestured behind her to the stacks of 'car part' crates. "We've done a few test runs, they aint interested in motors and mufflers. Better safe than sorry, especially with the _f__ragility_ of your cause." She jabbed with a sarcastic smile for his disrespect.

"Okay." Was all that McKeevy could muster diplomatically to the mouthy little girl.

"Alright, I guess we'll see you Sunda-" Clay stuck out his hand to close out the sale when he was cut off by his phone ringing.

"Thank you, sir." Sydney smiled, stepping in front of Clay and shaking the man's hand gratefully to cover for her President.

"What?" Clay sneered into his phone after turning away from the group. "He got what? By a Doberman?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Okay, bring the truck here and we'll get him to the clubhouse."

"Everything okay?" Sydney slinked away when Chibs and McKeevy began hollering to one another in their thick accents.

"Tig got his ass bitten by Unser's guard dog. Call Half-Sack with the van, and Tara with the medical."

"Tara?" Sydney was more surprised to hear the doctor's name coming out of his mouth than she was to hear what happened, hoping that this didn't have to do with her involvement with Kohn…

"She owes us." Clay walked off.

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that regardless of her lack of involvement in how Clay had found out about Tara, Jax would make sure that the blow back over it would land on her. She flipped open her burner, summoning Half-Sack to bring the van, looking through her contacts before she realized that she didn't have Tara's number. _Fuck. _She knew what this meant.

"Yeah." Jax spoke into his burner, surprised to recognize Sydney's temporary number.

"I need Tara's number."

"Why?" He shook his head with a deep scowl, not understanding what the dynamic between the two women was. Tara had known about her and Tig, and had obviously felt comfortable enough to tell her about Kohn, but she hadn't given her phone number? Something didn't make sense.

Tara hadn't reached out since Kohn had left town and the details were all pointing to the one conclusion that Jax had been so desperately trying to ignore, the one that Stahl had led him straight to: that she had just used him to get rid of Kohn all along. Her demon was gone thanks to him, she could go back to her successful and serious life, she didn't have a need for him anymore.

"Tig needs stitching up, something about Unser's security dog."

Jax scoffed when she told him what had happened to Tig, taking this as his own personal victory against the Sergeant. He rattled off Tara's number that he still knew by heart - if she had been using him, then he didn't need to feel bad about using her. This was a business transaction, and she was in his debt.

Tara was sitting at her kitchen table drumming her fingers over the oak surface that she used to eat breakfast at everyday as a kid. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion from the laps that her mind was running - trying to figure out what it was that she wanted now that she no longer had a need to stay in Charming.

Her head snapped up when her phone began ringing, feeling her heart speed up. "Hello?" She wearily answered the call from the unknown number, praying with everything she had that it wasn't Josh, not again…

"Hi, Tara. It's Sydney." She was relieved to hear the familiar voice, that was until she remembered what the conniving little gash had done; manipulating her into hoping that Jax would kill Kohn, then ratting out her intentions to him - filling his mind with poison. She had no doubt that Gemma was the mastermind behind the whole thing, but she knew that Sydney was too smart to be taken advantage of, she had to have been in on it.

"Hi." The brunette replied curtly, staying on the line only because she thought it might've been about Jax - the one thing keeping her from bolting straight out of town, which ironically was the exact same thing that had sent her bolting all of those years ago.

Sydney was taken aback by her cold greeting, but she didn't have time to think about that. She explained the situation to Tara who reluctantly agreed - figuring that maybe helping out the club would show Jax that she hadn't _just_ been using him to do her dirty work.

Sydney finally snapped her phone shut after the frustrating conversations - reminding herself that it was about the result, not the process - and walked out to the front of the warehouse where Tig and Juice had arrived in the stolen cargo truck.

"Jesus christ." She laughed when she saw Tig clutching his bleeding ass in the front seat of the truck. "You know… Somethin about this seems familiar." She tapped her bottom lip with a smirk, thinking back to the similar scene after his bike accident a few weeks ago.

"Both times were not my fault." Tig insisted, glaring at Juice in the driver's seat who nervously looked away before hopping out to begin loading up the crates.

"Mhmm…" Sydney hummed playfully with a raised brow. "Tara's gonna stitch you up, no bounty hunters." She winked, nodding to Half-Sack who pulled up with the van and ran out to help Tig transfer vehicles.

Sydney sat at the table along with Jax while Tig was laid out over the reaper so that Tara could sew up the deep wound in his ass. There was an eerie silence to the room, no laughter or playful banter over the situation, no small talk, nothing. She exchanged occasional glances with Jax or Tara, as well as catching the glances they exchanged with each other, both of which seemed less than friendly.

"Okay, take these." Tara handed Tig an orange bottle of morphine pills once she was finished. "It's all I have, I couldn't take anything from St. Thomas." She looked to Jax apologetically, rather than Tig - knowing that these pain pills were far stronger than he needed.

"Alright, thanks doc." Tig nodded as Tara took her leave, he _definitely_ didn't mind the extra dosage.

"Hey, thanks." Jax caught up with Tara, touching her arm gratefully. He'd intended on keeping up the closed off facade, but that wasn't him - not when it came to her.

"Yeah…" She replied awkwardly. "Make sure Sydney keeps an eye on the stitches."

"You talk to her?"

"No, I don't need to."

"Thought you guys were friends?"

"Yes well, I guess things aren't always as they seem." She spoke cryptically, looking down at her medical bag.

"They sure aren't." He scoffed condescendingly, stalking out the door.

Tara opened her mouth to call after him but she couldn't make herself say the words. She was conflicted, she didn't want Sydney and Gemma to get the satisfaction of destroying _whatever _it was that her and Jax had started up again, but she also didn't want them to get away with manipulating him into hating her. If they were going to crash and burn, she wanted it to be on her terms this time, not his mother's.

Juice helped a wobbly Tig get to his room while Sydney trailed behind with a smile at the amusing display.

"You're wiping my ass when I need it!" The drugged up Sergeant yelled to a horrified looking Juice.

"Come on man, that's what you got an old lady fo-"

"Nope." Sydney cut him off, shaking her head. The bald man grimaced painfully at the thought before taking his leave and hoping that Tig was just fucking around - but he had a feeling that he wasn't.

"I'm gonna pass out, you should sleep at your house tonight." Tig told Sydney from where he laid on his back with his eyes closed, still clothed.

"Uh, okay." She'd expected him to want her at the clubhouse while he was in pain and had to head out for Trammel's job at the early hour, but she didn't fight it - figuring he was likely just tired, pissed off, and uncomfortable. "I love you." She bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

"You too." He mumbled, sparing himself of the depressing sight by not opening his eyes.

Sydney left the clubhouse feeling more deflated than she thought was warranted, but couldn't figure out why. She chalked it up to the unusual worry of club secrets being found out - something she'd never had to deal with before, especially in the position that she was in where one wrong move could land her on the blacklist.

Tig spent the night tossing and turning, struggling to get to sleep even with the heavy drowsiness from the pills. He screamed for the prospect, figuring that it was still early enough for him to be hanging around the clubhouse.

"Yeah?" Half-Sack asked once he reached Tig's door, out of breath from running once he'd realized that the Sergeant had been calling for him. "You need me to call Syd?"

"No. Whiskey."

"Uh, aren't you supposed to like, not have alcohol with prescription-"

"I said whiskey!" Tig wasn't looking for a lecture on mixing substances, he would've let Sydney stay if he wanted that. "You call her, you lose that kutte."

Half-Sack reluctantly made his way to the bar in search of a bottle now that his backup plan was ruined, purposely grabbing the one that was almost empty so that Tig wouldn't be able to do too much damage to himself.

Tig swiped the bottle when Half-Sack returned, barely getting the lid off before he drained it of every last drop and let it fall to the floor, tipping his head back and waiting for the effects to kick in.

His head got foggier and foggier, and the ceiling fan eventually blurred into a new sight taking shape before his eyes: Sydney. She was twirling around on the compound, laughing and holding out her hand for him. He reached out, her hand almost in his grasp when suddenly she was whisked away by a dark cloud, the face of the reaper staring at him tauntingly.

He shook his head, turning around to look for her, his heart sinking when he saw it. The scene of the accident. The paramedics covering her body.

"Jules…"

"Uh… No." An EMT spoke behind him with her brows furrowed as she approached the scene with a clipboard. "Sydney Harding, did you know her?"

"No." Tig dropped to his knees. "No no no no, not again." His eyes filled with tears.

"You've lived a whole life without me."

"Baby?" Tig sprung to his feet when he heard her voice. "Where are you?"

Sydney's words echoed around him as he frantically searched the crowd of accident spectators for her, looking for _some_ hope that she was okay, that she wasn't dead, that this was just some sick joke.

"You've lived a whole life without me. You've lived a whole life without me. _You're going to live without me._" Her angelic voice turned demonic as the darkness returned to the sky, the face of death reappearing and speaking her words before reaching down and plucking her lifeless body off of the pavement.

"No!" Tig screamed as the reaper laughed in his face.

"Dude!" Happy burst through the door to see Tig standing in the middle of his dorm room, screaming incoherently.

Tig turned to face the door, seeing the reaper standing before him. He fell back onto his wound and yelled in pain as he blinked rapidly before the haunting images melted away and revealed where he was, and who was standing in front of him. The entire thing had been a hallucination.

"What the hell are you doing?" Happy was confused until he looked over at the nightstand which displayed the bottle of pills, then he saw the empty whiskey bottle on the floor. "Idiot." He scoffed, helping up his brother and getting him back into bed.

Tig couldn't speak, he just nodded to Happy as thanks for his help, his heart pounding and his forehead beading with sweat as he tried to calm down but as soon as his back hit the mattress, he quickly fell asleep.

"_Here we are." The giddy nurse handed a teary-eyed Sydney the tiny baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket. _

_Tig looked down at the baby sleeping peacefully, beautiful with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His heart exploded in his chest, his eyes swimming with tears before he broke down. Never did he think he would get this chance again - even_ want _this chance again, but here he was, happier than he'd ever been._

"_Do we have a name?" The nurse asked the new parents as they gazed upon their perfect daughter. _

"_Yeah." Sydney grinned, looking up at Tig. "Her name is-"_

"_Alexander Trager?" A.T.F. burst into the hospital room with an entire squad unit. "You are under arrest for the murder of Lowell Harland Sr., Ernesto Rodriguez, and Ezekiel Fortuna." _

"_No…" Tig whispered. "No no no. Not now." He shook his head before they took him to the ground harshly._

"_We're going to have to take the child, Mrs. Trager." _

"_What? No!" Sydney looked at Tig, horrified over what his actions had caused._

_The baby started crying as it was ripped from Sydney's arms while she screamed and thrashed against the officers holding her down to the bed with tears streaming down her face. "How could you let this happen?" She screamed._

"_I'm sorry… I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry." Tig cried from underneath the cop's knee._

A particularly heavy sob in his chest woke Tig from his deep sleep, looking around the room once again but this time his eyes were blurred with tears. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it had been a dream, though he could still feel his broken heart in his chest. It may not have been real, but it soon would be if he continued down this path.

He hobbled to the bathroom in search of water, ignoring the stinging in his ass. He gulped straight from the tap before splashing some onto his face, hoping that the shock would sober him up enough to fight the drowsiness of the pills. He couldn't sleep again, not if that was going to be the result.

He padded back across the room to the bed, stripping off his heavy jeans and shirt that were now soaked in sweat before he sat back against the headboard. He could feel his eyes rolling back into his skull and he didn't know how to stop it. The pills wouldn't let him stay awake, and his demons wouldn't let him sleep the horrors away. He was condemned to suffering no matter what he chose, which he supposed was what he had always been destined for.

_Tig was tearing down 44 with Sydney alongside him on her Ninja. He looked over at her and smiled while she gripped her handlebars and rode with determination as they rounded the bend to see the excavation equipment digging up the bones... The bones of Tig's past. _

"_What's going on?" Sydney flipped up her visor and looked back at him, recognizing the look of worry even under his sunglasses._

"_Uh… I don't-"_

"_Woah! Stop!" Tig pulled his eyes away from her to see Hale waving his hands in an attempt to warn her, but it had been too late. _

_He came to a screeching halt, almost launching himself over his handlebars as he watched Sydney's bike go down after she'd ran right over the spikes on the road. The black bike tumbled with her body, bouncing harshly across the pavement before it finally came to a stop._

"_No…" Tig whispered, racing over to where she laid, unmoving. He rolled her over, but the face he saw beneath the helmet wasn't hers._

"_Jules?" He whispered in shock._

_Her aqua coloured eyes snapped open; the eyes that he never thought he'd look into ever again. _

"_You're going to kill her, Alexander."_

"_W-what?" He jumped back. "No."_

"_You're going to kill her, just like you killed me."_

Tig woke up, panting and yelling for the third time. He knew exactly where he was and what had happened this time, grabbing the empty whiskey bottle and whipping it harshly against the wall, letting out a pained cry when it shattered loudly. He let the heavy tears fall from his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop them if he tried. The last dream had quite literally been the nail in the coffin, he knew that he couldn't avoid it any longer.

Sydney had woken up early and excited for what today's job had in store. She had just finished eating breakfast and was on her second cup of coffee when she heard a knock at the door. Her forehead creased, not having expected anyone to be stopping by and knowing that it was too early for morning visitors. She tucked her glock into her waistband, creeping towards the front door and peering into the peephole, chuckling when she realized it was Tig.

"Hi." She opened the door with a warm smile, setting her gun down on the small table by the door and tiptoeing to kiss his cheek. "I hope your ass isn't too sore, cause I got somethin fun planned later." She winked and turned down the hallway. "I didn't know you were coming or I would've made more breakfast." She walked backwards and spoke with an apologetic pout before she reached the kitchen, bounding towards the cupboard for a clean mug. "I have fresh coffee though." She smiled, walking towards the steaming coffee pot.

"Sydney."

Sydney felt the icy chill run through her veins, his serious tone halting her cheerful movements. She turned to face him, seeing what a wreck he looked like - which she hadn't noticed until now, amidst her excitement.

"What's wrong?"

"We can't do this anymore." He whispered, shaking his head as he looked down at his boots.

"D-do what?" She struggled to keep her voice level as the chill in her veins turned to ice.

"You and me." He looked back up regrettably - knowing that he needed to look her in the eye like a man - no matter how much he didn't want to. "It's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt."

"How many pills have you taken?" She knew that this wasn't him, it was his insecurities.

"You think this is just the painkillers talking?" He grimaced.

"Yeah, kind of." She scoffed.

"What you said…" He looked back down, shaking his head. "You were right. I've already lived a whole life without you, and you'll have to live a whole life without me when I get myself killed or locked up." He looked back up at her with pain behind his eyes. "I can't give you what you want… What you deserve."

For the first time in Sydney's life, she was speechless. She had _never _expected someone to be having the 'I'm too dangerous for you' conversation with _her_, especially when he _had_ been giving her exactly what she wanted all along. What she _didn't_ want was to be sheltered and protected, which ironically was the whole reason he'd come to this decision.

"Wha-" She cleared her throat, shaking her head to refocus after the words bitch slapped her like never before. "What brought this on?"

"It's been on my mind for a while." He chewed his lip while nodded sincerely.

Sydney's mind started racing. She'd spent _weeks_ thinking that she was just paranoid for worrying that she wouldn't be a good enough old lady for him, he had _let _her think that she was weak for thinking that she wouldn't be a good enough old lady for him when she'd been right on the money the whole time - as usual.

"When I told you not to break my heart… And you said that you couldn't even if you wanted to-"

"I never thought you'd ever give me the chance to do it." He answered before she could even finish asking the question.

Sydney felt her heart collapse inside her chest. This was no bitch slap, it was a gut punch.

As soon as the words left Tig's mouth, his own heart collapsed - breaking through the tough exterior he'd put up when he'd told himself that what he was doing was the right thing. But the pain in her face was enough to silence any demon, doubt, and dark thought that he'd ever had about their relationship. He would happily suffer through a lifetime of nightmares if it meant that he could take all of this back.

"Okay." Was all she could think to say in her state of shock, staring blankly at the hardwood floor behind where he stood in front of her.

"No." He needed to fix this, but he had no idea how to reverse the damage that his cowardly action had done. "No, Syd-"

"So I really was right all along… Thinking that I wasn't what you needed." She cut him off, chuckling humorlessly with the threat of tears evident in her voice as she looked away.

"No, baby, not at all." He shook his head, taking a step towards her. "You're more than enou-"

"You know what I liked about you?" She cut him off again, whipping her head back towards him and stopping him in his tracks as her anger started to trump her sadness. She'd let him do exactly what Happy tried to warn her of: cloud her confidence. "The fact that you could handle me - made me feel like I wasn't too much. But I guess I was wrong in thinking that you were enough." She snarled.

"Sydney, I-" His voice cracked.

"Get out." She shook her head, looking away from again.

"Please… Baby I just-"

"Don't insult me with more bullshit excuses." She raised her voice and stalked up to him where she stood on her tiptoes. "Get out of my sight."

Tig looked into her eyes… The eyes that once sparkled for him, the eyes that now showed a passionate fire fuelled by pain, all because of him. He respected her wishes, not wanting to hurt her anymore as he turned to leave with his head down and his ears ringing. If this was the right thing, then why did it feel so wrong?

* * *

**Remember that nice message I gave you at the beginning of the chapter? :))))**

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**Born to Die - Lana Del Rey**_

_**Monsters - Shinedown**_

_**Too Close - Alex Clare**_

_**Therapist - Mae Muller**_


	40. And Run

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 40: AND RUN**

Tig barely arrived back at the clubhouse after a near-miss with a minivan and two pedestrians, ignoring the greetings he received from his brothers as he walked stiffly down the hallway and into his dorm where he saw the broken glass on the floor, a bitter reminder of the night that resulted in the pain he was enduring - pain that made him forget all about why he'd been given the pills in the first place. _The pills._ Sydney had been right, everything he'd witnessed that pushed him into the decision was because of those fucking pills.

He stomped over to the nightstand, reaching for the neon bottle angrily with the intention of throwing it against the wall to join it's shattered counterpart, when he was stopped dead in his tracks by the glint of Sydney's gold necklace staring up at him. He felt his heart breaking all over again. He regretted it all. He wished so badly that he would've waited it out before giving in to his insecurities like a damn coward. He should've known that there would be no turning back, no pleading his case, no explaining things away, not to someone like Sydney.

He squeezed the bottle of offending pharmaceuticals harshly until his hand began to shake and the shards of plastic began puncturing his calloused skin. He'd always known he wasn't cut out for the happiness that a relationship brought, and this was exactly why; because he destroyed anything good that could ever find it's way into his life.

Sydney sat at her dining room table smoking a cigarette as she stared blankly off into the distance, replaying everything from the last twenty-four hours in her mind. At the time, she'd thought she was feeling off about the club, but she now realized that the feeling she had in her gut the night before might've been for something very different - something that she didn't want to accept.

Her phone vibrated, pulling her from the turmoil and providing her with the perfect distraction. She stamped out her cigarette and took a deep breath before heading to the front door where she pulled on her leather jacket and tucked her glock into her waistband.

Jax watched regrettably as Opie slung the backpack of explosives over his shoulder while everybody exited the clubhouse. He had a bad feeling about this. They should've been treading lightly with A.T.F. hovering, but instead they were diving in head first.

"Where's your little Princess?" He asked Clay when he realized that everybody was firing up their bikes and Sydney was nowhere in sight.

"Gonna meet us there."

Tara was just about to leave for work when she was startled by an angry rapping at her door. She stumbled back against the wall, diving to the ground and fishing through her purse for the gun that Gemma had given her before crawling towards the door that was rattling on the hinges. She carefully got to her feet, looking through the peephole before breathing a sigh relief, feeling stupid for getting so worked up.

"What the hell did you give him?" Sydney burst through the door the second that Tara cracked it open.

"Excuse me?" She was completely taken aback when the angry blonde barged into her home the exact same way that Gemma had, she was right all along in thinking that they were the same.

"I went out of my way to help you, and you repay me with bad drugs?"

"I did what I could, with what I had. I'm not your damn mob doctor." Sydney stayed silent. She knew she'd bought herself a first class ticket on the blame train. Tig's reaction wasn't Tara's fault, especially when she'd warned him of the effects in the first place.

"And you didn't help me with shit! You helped _her_, the same way everybody does."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sydney shook her head incredulously, apparently she wasn't the only one acting irrationally.

"Oh don't play dumb with me." Tara shook her head, taking a step closer to Sydney. "You may look like another half-bright club slut but you're too smart to get played. You knew all along what she wanted. You got lucky finding out about Kohn, feeding me that shit about your mother, making me think that you cared, getting me to admit…" She trailed off, shaking her head at her naivety. Too much time away had made her forget just who she was dealing with when it came to the residents of this poisonous town. "You saw a situation that you could spin to make Jax hate me in the end and you took it."

Sydney was shocked by the mess that Tara had created inside of her head, feeling much better about the mess inside of her own. She didn't appreciate the bogus accusation, but she was too stunned to react. She'd never understood how the plain, uptight doctor had twisted herself to fit into the life of a biker, but seeing her speak so confidently when she had absolutely no facts and _knew_ that Sydney was dangerous, made it a little easier to understand.

"Maybe you two _do_ belong together." She scoffed before stalking out of the house and leaving the confused physician in her wake.

Sydney wove in and out of traffic, the rush of adrenaline being the only thing that she allowed herself to feel. She couldn't see, hear, or think. She was in a haze, a haze fuelled by rage - which was when she operated best.

SAMCRO sat halfway down the access road, anxiously awaiting Sydney's arrival when her bike finally came into view, spitting rocks behind her as she sped towards the antsy men. The assumption was that the secluded cabin would be empty, but they would go in on foot to avoid drawing attention, just in case.

"Been waiting." Clay commented as Sydney removed her helmet and dismounted her Ninja.

"Sorry." She apologized flatly, not bothering to look her President in the eye before she took off towards their destination. Clay gave a _very_ guilty looking Tig a pointed look before joining his crew in scrambling after her long strides, the Sergeant trailing behind while leaving Chibs, Juice, and Bobby on lookout.

The group approached the unkempt cabin with rickety wooden walls surrounded by trees and bushes. The simple job quickly took a turn however, when they realized that the packing site wasn't empty at all; there were several bikes and cars around the property, and loud music could be heard coming from inside.

"Thought this place was supposed to be empty." Jax chewed the inside of his lip, they hadn't come prepared for a gun fight _at all_. No vests, no proper weapons, no ammo, nothing. All they had was the element of surprise.

"I guess the Mayans start their fiestas early." Clay snickered, pulling out his gun. He had let his other concerns, coupled with his trust for Trammel get in the way of proper preparation, but he wasn't going to tell his crew that - he was just going to pray for a miracle.

"What's our game plan here…" Jax knew that a Mayan war could re-spark at any second with the beef growing between the two M.C.'s, and the only way to avoid that was-

"No witnesses." Sydney stated as she cocked her gun, taking off towards the cabin through the bushes and ignoring the chorus of whispered protests behind her.

A smirk ghosted across Happy's lips when Sydney took charge. He knew that rage anywhere, and he knew it well enough to know that it had been conjured up by someone, and he had a feeling it was the curly haired man who hadn't looked at where but at his boots since he woke up this morning.

Sydney felt her powerful strides being halted by someone harshly gripping her bicep, spinning around where she came face to face with those pleading blue blue eyes. "Don't." She growled, pressing her gun against his forehead. She was operating on a one track mind, channeling _everything_ she was feeling into completing the task at hand, she had no patience for bullshit, _especially _Tig's.

Clay and Happy both squeezed their eyes shut once they saw the scene unfolding, not only was it obvious that Sydney and Tig were on the outs, but their standoff was happening in plain sight when they were supposed to be moving in undetected. Clay wondered if maybe he hadn't been wrong in worrying initially that the emotion-fuelled, rogue actions of a woman could be bad for the club...

Tig felt his heartbeat quicken when she stared at him with that look, a murderous look that he understood all too well… He held his hands up and backed away from her slowly as the rest of the club exhaled the breaths that they'd unintentionally been holding, not wanting to make any sudden movements that could set her off. Once Tig was a safe distance away, she lowered her weapon and turned back around, nodding for them to follow.

Happy and Opie looked to Clay with raised brows, unsure whether or not they should be taking her orders, but the white haired man didn't really see any other option since she was already on the move, rolling his eyes and leading them after her. Jax held back a smirk as she led the crew toward the house full of enemies with no fear for the threat, her old man, _or_ her President.

Once the entourage was crouched safely underneath a side window, Clay began directing each member to their post so that they could strategically take down this pack-shack without a hitch.

Sydney's mind blurred with the echoing of Tig's words bouncing around in her brain. Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her feet walking towards the back door. "Syd!" Clay whisper-yelled. "Take the front!" He ordered Tig, Jax, and Opie before scrambling to his feet and chasing after her with Happy in tow.

They caught up to Sydney just seconds late, reaching the top of the porch right as she kicked the door in and immediately began firing. The position at the back door gave her a view of the majority of the cabin; taking in the layout from her clear line of sight to the front door with the kitchen and living room to her left, the dining room to her right, and hallways in all four corners.

Tig's eyes widened when he heard gunfire from inside the house when he'd barely made it around the front, racing up the steps and kicking in the front door where he looked to his right and took down a Mayan that had been struggling to get his gun out. He wasn't quick enough to catch the second Mayan; a prospect who ducked into the kitchen. Sydney took a few shots at him when Tig missed, but he was too quick as he fell to the floor and scrambled to take cover before rattling off bullets in all directions as a distraction.

Tig dropped to the ground when the rogue bullets began flying, sitting with his back against the couch while Sydney ducked to reload. "Check the back rooms." She instructed Clay and Happy who were too in awe to argue after they hadn't had to take down a single enemy, doing as they were told and heading down the opposite back hallways. Clay was wrong, she wasn't a worry at all, she was his miracle.

Jax hung back with Opie outside of the door, taking a few shots here and there until Tig gave him the signal from his position in the living room, to check the left hallway at the front of the house. The VP nodded for his best friend to follow when the coast was clear, figuring Opie could start wiring the explosives once they cleared the corridor since Sydney had eliminated most of the threat.

Sydney peeked around the corner, ducking back once she got a visual of the Mayan's position in the kitchen. She knew she had to be quick if she was going to make it past the opening between the cupboards and the countertop to get a clear shot. She squeezed her eyes shut and slammed her head against the wall behind her, thinking about everything that Tig had said to her this morning, all the soft fucking things that she'd let herself feel for him, all the tears of weakness that she'd shed over him... The recounting did it's job, launching her into the kitchen where she put a bullet straight between the man's eyes before he even registered that she had moved.

Tig heard angry footsteps and then a gunshot in the kitchen. He pushed himself to his feet, bolting to where he worried he would see Sydney lying dead, but instead he found himself staring down the barrel of her gun and into those vengeful green eyes. He wasn't as surprised the second time that he'd found himself in this position, but his heart sank and his eyes widened when everything around them blurred into a slow motion vision and she pulled the trigger.

Happy stalked out of the hallway to a barrage of gunfire after he'd cleared a bedroom and bathroom in his corner, seeing Sydney standing with her gun pointed right at Tig, then pulling the trigger... But the Sergeant didn't drop, the Mayan that had come up behind him did.

Tig almost choked on his own tongue when he heard the body drop behind him. He gasped for air as he looked over his shoulder at another dead prospect holding a .357 that would've ended his life. In some kind of sick and twisted fate, _she_ had just saved _him_ from the very thing that _he_ had been trying to protect _her _from by leaving her.

He looked back up from the blood pooling on the floor to see her still standing with her gun on him and an _evil,_ cocky smile on her face with her eyes consumed by flames. He knew now just _how badly_ he'd fucked up.

"All clear." Clay announced as he emerged from the hallway as Sydney held her gun on Tig once again

"Explosives are ready to go." Jax nodded, coming from his hallway with Opie behind him, prompting Sydney to finally lower her weapon and tuck it away. "Jesus Christ…" He took a look around at the gruesome scene of dead Mexicans and _pounds_ of heroin, glad that they would be blowing this shithole to hell.

"We done here?" Sydney asked once everyone was in the room after securing the perimeter. Clay's eyes flicked to Jax's, then Tig's, still trying to process the actions of the innocent looking girl standing before him.

Sydney took his answer as a yes, nodding curtly to the men before taking off out the backdoor. Jax and Opie looked around the circle with raised brows, matching Clay's expression as she strutted off like taking down a group of deadly enemies was just another day. The blonde man couldn't tell if he was more impressed with her, or with the fact that he didn't have to get any blood on his hands to get the job done to Clay's satisfaction.

"Whatever the hell you did… _Please_ do it again." Clay begged Tig, earning some light laughs from the group before the distraught Sergeant ran out after her.

As concerned as Happy was for whatever Tig had done to fuel that kind of rampage, he had a permanent grin on his face after she had shown everyone just what he'd trained her for, having gone above and beyond even _his _expectations of what she was capable of.

Sydney marched through the thick brush while her ears rang loud enough that she didn't hear Tig calling after her. "We're whole. Wiring up." She called to the lookout crew a few yards away from where her bike was parked as Tig approached, ignoring him as she swung her leg over the matte black machine.

"Sydney, please… Let me expla-"

"Did you ever think about asking me what I wanted?" She cut him off as she snapped her head up from where she'd been looking at her helmet, flipping her hair out of her face. "If I wanted kids or a straight-laced husband?"

Tig hung his head for what felt like the hundredth time today. He knew exactly where she was going with this, and he knew that like everything else, he didn't have an argument.

"Because I don't." She snapped. "There was nothing that I fucking wanted besides that patch, until I met you." She swallowed the crack in her voice. "You can remember that next time you try to make a decision for me."

"Baby…" Tig's eyes filled with tears again when he heard the pain in her voice - the pain that _he_ caused her.

"Have a safe run." She pulled her helmet over her head and sped away.

Tig walked stiffly back to his bike, chewing his tongue to keep himself calm. "Let's go." He spoke to Juice as he mounted his Dyna and gestured down the road.

"But, I thought Clay didn't want us heading up until later?"

"We got the crates now. It don't matter." He lied, taking off towards the warehouse where the truck was waiting.

Sydney was in her open garage, having just pulled in, standing next to her bike as she stripped off the heavy leather that she wore, feeling like it was suffocating her as the panic took over - panic that only increased when she heard a Harley rolling down her street. She looked up tentatively, thankful to see that it was just Happy.

"What happened." The Tacoma Killer didn't bother removing his helmet or cutting his engine as he started yelling the dreaded question from the bottom of the driveway, stalking towards her as she continued what she was doing, pretending that she didn't hear him over his chugging exhaust.

"What happened." He repeated himself - something that he did _not_ do - gripping her face in his hand so that she would look at him.

Sydney felt the stinging in the back of her throat from holding back tears as she slapped his hand away, ripping her eyes from the black ones that were boring into her and demanding answers - answers that she didn't want to give.

"I know that rage…" He got no response once again, growing more and more frustrated. Happy wasn't a conversationalist at the best of times, let alone when he was talking to himself. "We lyin to each other now?"

"Not saying anything isn't lying. You should know all about that." She sneered, finally meeting his eyes.

Happy narrowed his eyes, letting her know that her petty comments wouldn't be deterring him. He wouldn't be leaving until he got an answer that satisfied him.

"He doesn't want me. There's nothing to tell." She turned her attention to the zipper on her boot.

"Guess we are lyin to each other." He scoffed.

"That's the truth." She snapped, looking up at him fiercely from where she was hunched over.

"You really _are_ twisted up if somethin's got you thinking that's the truth. We both know it aint." He couldn't believe what she was saying. The way that Tig loved Sydney was clear as day, anyone with eyes could see it - no matter how badly they might've wished that they couldn't.

"Yeah well." She averted her eyes again. "I guess we were wrong."

"I'm never wrong."

"If you can't fucking accept what I'm telling you, then why don't you go find out for yourself!" She spit impatiently as she straightened up and threw her arms in the air.

"Okay." Happy nodded with his strong chin, returning to his bike.

"Ugh!" Sydney groaned when he zoomed away on his mission to pile more shit onto the plate that she couldn't seem to clear.

"So, how's your ass?" Juice asked cheerfully from the driver's seat of the tanker as he and Tig began the drive to Indian Hills.

"Shut up." Tig replied before looking back out the window, he'd forgotten all about the damn dog bite.

"Look man, it's not my fault that you got bit, alright? You didn't specify what kind of drug." He slowly looked back over at the naive man, that wild look coming to his eyes. "I am _not_ happy about this either. At least you and I, you know - we could try to have a decent conversation."

"What?" Tig squinted, shaking his head. "What do you want? You wanna bond? You wanna get closer?" Juice pursed his lips and nodded, glad that he was finally getting through to the blue-eyed man.

"Fine." Tig shrugged and began unbuckling his belt. "Pull over."

"Uh, what?"

"You're gonna stop, I'm gonna take my pants off and you're gonna put my cock in your mouth. You're gonna gag, I'm gonna laugh, we'll be best friends forever."

"Why you gotta be that way?" Juice groaned, returning to the silence that Tig had wanted in the first place.

The pair finally arrived in Nevada after what felt like the longest ride ever. Tig jumped out of the truck, shaking his head to rid himself of the bad mood before he had to handle business. He entered the Indian Hills clubhouse, finding it relatively empty except for a couple of sweetbutts.

"Hi…" He was greeted by the little brunette that he recognized as Half-Sack's prize from last week.

"Oh hey doll." Tig smiled. "Jury around?"

"He said you guys weren't comin until later."

"Yeah… We got in a little early." He nodded to Juice who came skipping through the doorway, far too chipper for Tig to handle. "Any idea when he's gonna be back?"

"No, they left for Vegas this morning." She frowned. "But I'll give him a call."

"That'd be great, thanks." He winked.

Jury sat barricaded with his crew in the SAMNOV clubhouse. What was supposed to be a simple run to help out the Las Vegas charter as a thank you for their protection in the previous weeks, had now turned into a full blown standoff between the Sons and the Mayans.

"Think this order came down from above?" SAMNOV President Rollie Thurman asked Jury as he stared out the window at the row of Mayans holding them hostage from their bikes.

"Had to… We haven't done anything to warrant this kind of surveillance." Jury chewed his lip, wondering if this had anything to do with SAMCRO offering them guns for this very reason. The white haired man had to stop his theorizing however, when his phone started ringing with a call from Cherry.

"Hey Jury, SAMCRO is here lookin for you. I know they're early but he said he really needs to talk to you-"

"Put them on." He cut her off.

The brunette knew better than to disobey an order from the President, scurrying out of the backroom and handing the phone to the older man with the bright blue eyes.

"Tig." He spoke down the line.

"Hey, I know we're supposed to pick up those guns today. I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the group of Mayans barricading us inside the clubhouse while we got no protection..."

"Mayans?" Tig was surprised to hear that. He knew Jury had been having issues with their Mexican rivals, but there was no reason for things to have heated up to this degree, unless… "Let me give Clay a call." He hung up and immediately dialled his President as he exited the building.

"Clay." He barked down the line the second that his superior picked up. "We got trouble man. Mayans got Indian Hills trapped inside the Vegas clubhouse."

"Mayans? They say why?"

"They don't know. You don't think it has anything to do with what we did for Trammel?"

"That should've been off the books." He shook his head. "Tell them to wait it out. Mayans won't waste their manpower for that long if they haven't stated their demands, it's a bluff. They probably figured we'd be selling to our new charter - trying to scare off the deal. You and Juice don't leave without that cash." He snapped his burner shut, not giving Tig any time to protest.

Tig grumbled when Clay gave his orders and hung up the phone. He headed inside to begin drinking, this was going to be a _long_ run.

* * *

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**Jokes on You - Charlotte Lawrence**_


	41. No Rest For The Brokenhearted

**I picked a REAL shit time to get writer's block huh :/ Thank you so much to my wonderful, godsent beta readers (and my little sister l o l) who helped me with this chapter 😭**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 41: NO REST FOR THE BROKENHEARTED**

"Trouble in Nevada. Tig says that the Mayans got Jury and the rest of Indian Hills trapped at the Vegas clubhouse." Clay repeated the potentially harmful information to the table.

Sydney tensed up when she heard Tig's name, immediately reaching for her necklace before realizing that it wasn't there. Her breathing picked up as the panic filled her lungs, trying to keep herself under control as she felt her throat locking and her chest heaving. She transferred her worry to the first thing she could think of: Happy, who she knew was likely on his way to Indian Hills to throw the Sergeant a beating. But the distraction didn't hold much weight when she knew that he was the safest lone rider out of the bunch...

"Because of what we did?"

"We don't know anything." Clay rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Were we followed?" Opie suggested, looking to Chibs and Bobby who'd stood lookout at the cabin.

"Who would follow us?" Bobby scoffed.

"A.T.F.?" He stated as if it was an obvious explanation.

Sydney's panic attack was curbed by the tall man's theory; a theory that she needed to keep off the table. "A.T.F. followed us, didn't arrest us, then went and told the rival gang what we did in order to start _more_ violence. Yeah? That makes sense to you?" She spoke incredulously before tossing Jax an explanatory glance. They knew one fed who would _definitely _do something like this, any she needed to eliminate any A.T.F. suspicion while they got to the bottom of this.

"Maybe one of the Mayans saw you while you were having your temper tantrum and called Alvarez." He retorted with a shrug.

"Hey! This was not her fault." Jax raised his voice, recognizing the irony of the situation when just the other day _Opie_ had been defending _her_ against _him_. "You saw what happened, those Mayans had no clue that they were about to be ambushed."

"Is there any way that the Mayans could've found out that we were bringin up the guns." Chibs offered up.

"Why go after Jury and not the truck?" Clay knew that there was a vital piece of the puzzle missing here. "We lay low until we find out what this heat is about." He concluded with a stern glance around the table, not worrying too much about possibly going into lockdown when no one had been hurt, the threat wasn't local, and they wouldn't be doing any gun sales until McKeevy returned on the weekend.

"We need to talk." Jax mumbled into Sydney's ear as they led the group out of the chapel.

"Ride with me." She nodded as she stalked towards the door.

Tig sat on the bed in one of the visitor's dorms in the Indian Hills clubhouse with his head in his hands and a bottle of whiskey on the ground. He cursed himself for letting his demons win, letting his doubt cloud his judgment and taint his mind.

He pulled out his wallet, ignoring the tightening in his chest as he forced himself to remove the pictures he'd placed there just weeks before. He ran his thumb over her face in the photos, the photos from the night she told him that she loved him... He felt the pinch behind his eyes and grumbled in frustration, stuffing them back into his wallet and sucking the tears back. The old Tig never would've struggled to kick a girl to the curb, but things were different with Sydney; there was something about her that could soften even the hardest of men. It'd been so easy for him to fall back into being the romantic and emotional man that he'd buried underneath the rough appearance and menacing leather kutte for so many years. He should've known that very first day that he met her when he'd seen it with Happy... But instead he was stuck experiencing it first hand.

He reached into his pocket, brushing his fingers along her necklace and feeling his heart clenching again, this time even harder. He was terrified that if he gave her enough time to hate him as much as he currently hated himself, he would never be able to get her back.

Sydney drove into her garage with Jax in tow, she was in no mood to hang around the clubhouse and face the inevitable questions that would come from everyone after her actions had made it so obvious that something was off.

Jax parked in front of the brown house, watching from his bike as Sydney removed her helmet and walked up to her front door with no regard for him or what he was doing. He scowled for a few seconds before ripping off his own helmet and jogging up the pathway after her, realizing that she wasn't intending on holding the door open for him.

"You got a nice place…" He drew out while admiring the tasteful art that lined the hallway of the modern style home on his way to the kitchen. The blonde man wasn't quite sure what he'd expected out of her house, but he knew that it wasn't this.

"Acting and looking like trailer trash is enough, if I had the whole package then I couldn't exactly call it an illusion." She moved around the kitchen to gather ingredients, hating how foreign her own voice sounded in it's lifelessness as she joked.

"Darlin… You do _not_ look like trailer trash." Jax smirked as he tucked a cigarette behind his ear.

"There's beer in the fridge. It won't take long." She chortled and rolled her eyes, letting him know that he didn't have to stand around while she cooked.

"Are you gonna cook for me, Princess?" He flashed a cocky grin.

Sydney rolled her eyes again, moving to the fridge to grab him a beer since he wanted to stand around and gloat instead. "Well, it doesn't look like Tara will be doing much of that any time soon and I have a vacancy. Call it pity." She smiled sarcastically, sliding the glass bottle across the marble countertop of the island before turning away.

"Trouble in paradise?" He twisted the cap off with a scowl of genuine concern. It'd been obvious that something was up, but Sydney and Tig always did things less than traditionally - he hadn't expected whatever was going on with them to last longer than they were able to keep their hands off of each other.

"Somethin like that." She spoke distantly as her chest tightened at the thought, refusing to put her energy into anything other than the slice of bread that she was buttering.

"There's somethin that we aint seein here with the Mayans…" He changed the subject, sensing by her reaction that it wasn't open for discussion.

"I know." She agreed, turning to face him. "You don't think Trammel would set us up, do you? Some kind payback for his friend getting killed."

"Nah, I don't think so." The thought hadn't even crossed his mind, but now that she brought it up... "I mean… It would make sense, but why would the Mayans go after Nevada?"

"That's true, and Trammel didn't know anything about us bringing them guns." She concluded that their ally on the force was not to blame. "The only other thing that makes sense is being followed, there were no cameras or anything out there." She shook her head in disbelief.

"I know." Jax nodded somberly. He didn't want to think that Kohn was anything other than an isolated incident, but it was starting to look like a very real possibility that he might've had other corrupt partners looking to take down the Sons.

"Are you _sure_ that Kohn is gone?"

"I was thinking the same thing, but I watched him leave town."

"Another enemy on the force?" She wrinkled her brows before turning to flip the sandwiches.

"That's where my mind is at."

"Well you know what they say… 'An enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine.'" She bit her lip, contemplating who might have a vendetta big enough about the Sons to join forces with someone as slimy as Kohn. "Hale?" She asked with uncertainty.

"If Hale could be bought, we'd have him."

"Maybe you've just been offering the wrong currency."

"I don't know… He doesn't like having us around but I don't think he would go dirty to take us down, not now, not after Kohn was stripped for doing the same thing." Sydney nodded her understanding. She wasn't completely ready to scrub Hale's name from her list of culprits, but Jax had a valid point. "I'll find out." She nodded before turning to lower the heat on the burner.

Jax raised a brow in question, but he should've known he wouldn't get an answer. He chortled, peering over her shoulder to get a look at the questionable meal that she was planning on serving him.

"The result, not the process." She snickered, nudging him backwards. "It's almost done, go sit outside." The VP bit his lip but did as he was told - snagging an extra beer from the fridge.

"Have an open mind." Sydney warned as she set the plates down on the glass tabletop of her backyard patio set.

"I'm tryin but…" Jax winced as his mind drifted back to the last time she cooked for him and it had almost killed him.

"I promise that this meal is free of any scovilles." She held her hands up in defense until he picked up the sandwich wearily and began examining it's contents. "Jackson." She sighed. "Don't make this harder on yourself. Just take a bite."

Jax bit the bullet - literally - and sunk his teeth into the toasted bread of the odd sandwich. He was pleasantly surprised, his expression of uncertainty falling immediately as the flavours invaded his mouth and shocked his taste buds by just how well they mingled together.

"Good, right?" She grinned when she saw the satisfaction overtake him.

"What even is this?" He spoke with his mouth full after taking another bite.

"Grilled peanut butter and jelly, with bacon." She replied plainly.

Jax raised a brow at her nonchalant response. He chortled when she didn't flinch under his questioning gaze, reaching for his beer and sliding hers closer to her.

Sydney unscrewed the lid from the beer he'd brought out for her. She would've much preferred whiskey - but she would save that for when she was alone, she didn't need him asking any more questions about Tig.

"Can I ask you something?" She broke the silence that they had eaten in as they stared out over the hills that rolled beyond her backyard.

Jax looked to her inquisitively before nodding as he squinted in the sun that was getting lower in the sky.

"Why can't you always talk like this? Smart, open minded, respectful." She joked.

"I don't know…" He scoffed at the jab.

"Something happens to you when you sit at that table… When you're around Clay... You become a different man - like you're stuck between who you are and who you want to be." She surmised gently. She genuinely enjoyed the company of the VP when he wasn't troubled by the club or accusing her of undermining him. As soon as anyone else was around it was like a switch flipped and he became someone different, someone blinded by hate, someone weak.

"It's the same reason that you can't talk to anybody about Tig." He looked into her green eyes with sincerity. "We both got expectations of us; things that we have to be at the table, things that bleed into who we are. There's no stopping that." He shook his head.

"Yeah." Sydney chuckled humorlessly. "I guess you're right." She nodded, not having expected an answer that she could understand so deeply. "We should try to keep our chats off the table."

"Thought that went against your little club moral compass." He brought a cigarette to his lips.

"It does." Sydney wanted to enter the brotherhood clean, but if she could pull some strings behind the scenes to help Clay and Jax see eye to eye, she would. "But in the end it will be better for the club."

"I don't think your old man will enjoy that too much." Jax couldn't help himself from pushing the envelope.

"Yeah..." She looked down at the grass below her bare feet. "We don't need to worry about that."

"I knew this had to be some breakup food." He nudged her arm with a smirk, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Figured we could both use it."

Jax should've known that he wouldn't get away with prying, unscathed. "She say anything to you about that?" He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Nah." Sydney shook her head and brought her own cigarette to her lips. "Old history's got her all twisted up."

"Yeah." Jax scoffed, switching places with her as the one wanting to do the subject avoiding now.

Tig was pulled from his self-loathing by the faint sound of a Harley outside the Indian Hills clubhouse. He tabled his sorrows, going into full Sergeant mode as he stalked out of the hallway and into the bar with his gun in hand in case this meant trouble.

"It's just one of your guys." Cherry reported from the window, her heart skipping a beat when more of SAMCRO began pouring in, wondering if this meant that the prospect she hadn't stopped thinking about would be joining them…

"One of ours?" Juice scowled, looking to Tig for an explanation before the black double doors to the clubhouse busted open.

Before Tig could begin wondering who was there and why, he got his answer when his eyes laid on the lone rider, and he knew _exactly_ why he'd made the trip.

"What the hell did you do, prick." Happy's long strides carried him over to Tig quickly, delivering a _hard_ punch to the Sergeant's jaw before he could answer.

"Oh come on man, I know-" Tig began pleading his guilt before he was cut off by an even harder punch, feeling the blood escaping his mouth as he was knocked back.

"I told you not to fuck her around." Happy growled, kicking him to the ground.

"I know." Tig stayed down, clutching his throbbing jaw. "I fucked up."

"You aint gonna fight back?"

"I deserve it." He shook his head.

"That's the same pussy ass reason you aint gonna fight for her." The black eyed man scoffed at the sorry excuse, walking out just as quickly as he'd walked in.

Juice looked at his battered Sergeant in horror, still trying to process what had just happened. "Here, why don't you go let him know about the Mayans, I'll get him cleaned up." Cherry tried to diffuse the situation, hoping that the sweet bald man she'd been talking to could help calm his much angrier counterpart.

Tig didn't flinch as he sat on the bed while the little brunette dabbed his bleeding wounds clean. He stared straight ahead, not caring to try and look at her tits that were practically in his face, as he likely would've before.

"This about some pussy back home?" Cherry heard what the scary tattooed man had said, but even if she hadn't, the lifelessness behind Tig's eyes would've told the story.

"My old lady." He corrected harshly.

"The girl from your pictures?" She remembered the belligerent man bragging about his old lady the last time that he had been drunk in Nevada.

"Yeah."

"Sounds messy..."

"Nah, it's not what you're thinking. They're family."

"Oh, so you've known her a while then." She surmised sadly as her hope faded. She'd been stupid to think that something could work with Half-Sack. She'd only just met him, and he was only a prospect - she couldn't just jump charters for someone who didn't even have a patch.

"Nah." Tig chortled. "She kinda came outta nowhere… Knocked me on my ass." He spoke nostalgically.

Cherry perked up at the news, maybe there was hope…

"I fucked that all up though."

"Why?" Her brows knit. The way he'd beamed about her to anybody who would listen - _including_ the sweetbutts - only a week ago was definitely not the action of a man who'd intended on fucking things up.

"You heard what he said." Tig hung his head. Happy's words had hit him much harder than any of the punches had. He was completely right, he'd let Sydney go because he felt like he deserved to suffer.

"Sounds like that saying… 'You wouldn't know what to do with it if you got it.'" Tig wrinkled his brows. "You know it's like, you never expected to get what you wanted. Now that you have it, you don't know how to keep it."

Now her words were the ones hitting him. Tig wanted someone that he didn't have to protect, he got it. Sydney wanted someone that could handle her, she got it. The exact reasons that they had fallen in love with each other, were the exact reasons that were tearing them apart. The difference was that Sydney had pushed through because she loved him, now he had to do the same. He had to make things right.

"Thanks, doll." Tig lit up with gratitude, standing from the bed and kissing her on the cheek. "You should go."

"What? Go where?" It couldn't be…

"The prospect." Tig nodded.

"Okay." Cherry smiled. She had given him the push he needed, and he returned the favor.

Sydney sat at the diner in her usual back booth, not having the energy to cook at the early hour, or even really eat for that matter, she just knew that she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts for any longer. She was dreading the day shift at the office, the questions and looks she was going to get from everyone, _especially_ Gemma.

"Why so glum, sugarplum?" Doreen pouted as she refilled Sydney's mug with hot coffee, knowing that something had to be off because the normally chatty girl had sat down without a peep and hadn't put in an order.

"Ah, rough night." She sipped the hot liquid in hopes of deterring any further questions from the middle-aged woman.

After the semi-enjoyable incahoots meeting with Jax had ended, Sydney drowned any feelings in whatever alcohol she could find laying around her house. Luckily, it had done the job and she passed out by 9:00 P.M. with no sadness, no nightmares, and by the grace of god - no nasty hangover.

"Why don't you call David? I'm sure he'd put a smile on that pretty face."

Sydney snorted into her coffee, shaking her head as she set the white mug onto the speckled tabletop. She _had_ hoped to run into the cop sooner or later so that she could find out what he knew about the Mayans, but she wasn't going to give the redhead the satisfaction. She rolled her eyes playfully, taking another sip of her coffee before the door chime grabbed her attention where she looked up to see none other than David Hale standing at the hostess' booth, and Doreen shooting her a shit-eating grin. She scoffed and shook her head in disbelief before plastering the cheesiest smile she could muster up for the blue eyed man.

"Well I guess I won't be in for a boring day." David approached Sydney where she sat against the back wall by the window, the same place they had sat just weeks earlier.

"Hi Davey." She greeted, putting every last drop of energy that she had into keeping up her usual bubbliness. "You here to make a lonely girl a little less lonely?" She leant against the seatback and propped her feet up on the table.

"I would but, from what I've heard you've got quite the roster waiting to fill the empty seat."

"Oh I do." She smirked. "But none of them tickle my fancy quite like the Deputy Chief."

Hale found himself quickly succumbing to her pull even after everything he'd learned in recent breakthroughs regarding SAMCRO. He shook his head, turning his attention towards the kitchen. "To go." He nodded.

"Awe, don't tell me you found someone who excites you like I do." She pouted.

"Now that would be a tall order." He scoffed.

"That's right." She bit her lip and nodded seductively before he winked and took off out the door that he'd walked in only minutes ago.

"See I told you he would get you smiling!" Doreen squealed as she rushed over and shook Sydney's arm excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes.

Sydney pondered the encounter with Hale on her way to the clubhouse. She cursed Tig - that being the only thought she would allow herself to give him - for knocking her off of her game; if she had been in a normal frame of mind, she would've been able to get Hale to stay and tell her exactly what she wanted to know.

She couldn't tell if his reaction had been what she'd discovered to be his usual discomfort under her flirting, or if it was guilt. The more she thought, the more she felt like maybe Jax was right; he seemed too good to go dirty.

"Haven't seen too much of you lately." Gemma said by way of a hello as Sydney entered the office.

"Club's been busy." She tossed her purse onto the floor by her chair.

"How's that going?" She slid her reading glasses off and tossed them onto her desk.

"Good." Sydney squeezed her eyes shut as the short answer left her mouth. Even though it was sincere and sounded as such, she knew it wouldn't satisfy the matriarch, but she just couldn't find the energy to formulate better answers.

"How about Tig."

_For fuck's sake. _She knew the question had been coming, but she wished it would've come later than 8:00 a.m..

"We're over." She spoke coldly, sitting at her desk and immediately busying herself with the stack of papers in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

"What?" Gemma recoiled in surprise. For once the President hadn't privyed his wife on _any_ of the current events in hopes of keeping her from worrying and blowing things out of proportion when he was trying to keep them contained. "Since when?"

"Yesterday."

"What happened?"

"Exactly what you said would happen."

"What'd I say?" Gemma had said a lot of things, Sydney could've been referring to anything - this _was_ Tig they were talking about after all.

"You were right about all of it; transparency, these guys needing a woman they can control, him not being cut out for a relationship."

"I wasn't right about that." She stood from her desk and walked over to where Sydney was avoiding her gaze.

"Oh yeah?" Sydney scoffed.

"What'd he do? Cheat?" Gemma figured that would've been the only thing that Tig could do that Sydney wouldn't put up with.

"No."

"Then why did you break it off?"

"_I_ didn't." Sydney snapped as she slammed her hands down on the desk, finally meeting the older woman's eyes.

To say that Gemma was shocked to hear that _Tig_ was the one who had dumped _her_ would be an understatement, but her shock was cut off by a loud Harley pulling up right outside the office doors.

The two women looked up with knitted brows when they saw Happy riding in with a little brunette on the back of his bike.

"That's not your girlfriend?" Sydney scowled when he entered the office, wondering who on earth could've earned themselves a spot on the coveted bitch bar of Happy Lowman's Dyna.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Happy hid the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "She's from Nevada, wants to talk to you." He nodded towards Sydney. He and Cherry had decided that it would be best for her to talk to Sydney about Tig. The sweetbutt wanted to help the Sergeant who had given her the courage to follow her heart, and Happy knew that Sydney was far more likely to listen to an outside source than she was to listen to him.

Sydney looked at the short girl who was chatting with Bobby across the lot, then back at Happy, seeing those wide eyes that she knew were hiding something, and there was only one thing that made sense as to why a piece of road pussy would come to Charming looking for her.

Gemma felt her heart speeding up as she watched the scene unfold, looking between Happy, Sydney, and the little tart who had dared to come here and violate the rules of the M.C. world. She watched the blonde get angrier and angrier and the room stayed silent until she eventually slid her chair back and stomped out of the office.

Happy scowled deeply when Sydney stormed past him. He thought he had been doing a good job at concealing his true intentions with his straight face, but apparently he was wrong.

"Why the hell would you bring her here?" Gemma scolded the man that most people wouldn't dare come near, without a drop of fear.

Happy flinched, being caught off guard by her wrath, he didn't understand why nobody seemed to think that the idea was as good as he did, but he knew better than to disobey an order from the queen. "Sorry." He nodded. "I'll get her out."

"No." She stopped him. "I got it."

Sydney focused on her incredibly heavy breathing - the only thing that was helping her hold back the tears - as her feet carried her to Tig's dorm. As if he hadn't humiliated her enough privately, he had to do it publicly too. She barely had any comprehension of what she was doing as she gathered all of her belongings, emptying her drawers in his dresser while her body was on autopilot. She was so focused on not breaking down that she'd finished without even thinking to look for her necklace.

Half-Sack did a double take when he saw Cherry across the lot talking to Bobby who was clearly trying to divert her attention from where he was working in the garage. He couldn't believe that she was there, let alone that she might be there for him?

"You got _a lot_ of nerve comin here…" Cherry looked up to see a gorgeous middle-aged woman talking down to her from where she stood much taller, looking back at Happy.

"I know I'm not supposed to be here. Okay…" She didn't want Happy to get into trouble after he'd helped her. "Just let me go talk to-" She looked at Half-Sack.

"You will not be talking to anybody here. You got that?" Gemma cut her off. "Get her the hell out of here, now." She ordered Bobby who grabbed her arm and began walking towards the gate.

"But-" She pulled her arm from his grasp, looking to Half-Sack for help, but he just ignored her - knowing that he was in no position to cross Gemma who clearly wanted her gone.

"Let's go." Bobby nodded softly to Cherry, letting her know that things would only get worse if she fought back.

The Indian Hills woman hung her head, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. She'd been out of her mind to think that she could pull this off.

"Get me the hell out of here." She walked hastily behind the older man.

Gemma's heart broke for Sydney as she watched her toss her bags into the back of her car and peel out of the lot. She'd been there before, a sweetbutt getting too comfortable and thinking that they could show up for something more… She shook the painful memory away, digging up old shit would only cause more harm than it was worth.

Sydney continued her blind actions, racing through her house as she collected anything that Tig may have left there, getting back into her car and speeding back to the clubhouse, not caring if it earned her another ticket.

"Sack!" Half-Sack was quickly spun around from where he was in the middle of an oil change by Sydney who shoved her keys into his chest. "Take that shit in my backseat and put it in Tig's room." She walked away before he could ask any questions, leaving him even more stunned and confused than he'd previously been.

"That was rough." Gemma commented when Sydney returned to the office. As bad as she felt, she wasn't finished gathering her intel.

"Sure was."

"Sweetheart… Those girls don't mean anything. They need to be reminded of their place when they step out of line like that."

"It doesn't matter." Sydney shook her head. "It's like you said." She hoped that flattering Gemma would ease up the prying.

"What I said was true at the time. Things changed. I said that before I saw how much he really loved you." She hoped to convey the depth of her statement through her eyes, but Sydney wouldn't meet them. "Look… It's not easy. That shit." She nodded out the door in reference to Cherry. "I've been there, with two husbands."

Sydney looked up out of surprise by the news. She never would've expected _Gemma_ to be victim of the consequences of the road clause.

"But they don't think like we do. They think in the moment. Tig is just upset, and the best way he knows how to deal with any kind of emotion is with booze and pussy."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She scoffed.

"No." She smirked. "But I hope you know it aint as deep as it feels. Tig will be back and I know he will do everything he can to make you see that."

Sydney forced herself to nod, not being able to come up with a response that wouldn't open the floodgates, and she wasn't going to do that.

"Speaking of relationships… I need to talk to you about Tara." Sydney switched gears. Normally she would've preferred much more lead up to this kind of bold conversation, but the vulnerability had her feeling desperate for an accomplishment to balance the scales and she figured if there was any time that Gemma would throw her some pity answers, it would be now.

"About Tara?" Gemma scowled.

"What do you know about her and A.T.F.?" Sydney had been waiting anxiously for Jax to accuse her of telling Clay about Tara's involvement with Kohn, she hoped that this conversation would help clear her name with the VP in the future.

"Well I know she had a restraining order against him, was scared… That's why I gave her that gun. Then she pissed him off and he came after Jax."

"I need you to keep Clay clear of it."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you think that him knowing will protect Jax from Kohn, it won't." She clarified, hoping that she could pull on some of those mama bear heartstrings. "I'm helping Jax get it under control, but whatever their beef is has them blinded by each other, they can't see the bigger picture." Gemma nodded wearily with her lips pursed. "Look I know you don't like Tara, you want Clay to help with that. But anything Clay wants right now, Jax goes in the opposite direction, vice versa. This staying quiet means that I can help protect them both not only from Kohn, but from each other."

"Okay." Gemma agreed. Sydney had a point, she knew Clay was losing control over Jax, she'd been watching it happen for months. If this is what she needed to do to keep her boys safe, she would.

Half-Sack felt like he could jump out of his skin by the time that his shift in the garage finally ended. He was beyond antsy to find out why Cherry had come, and what Tig had done, and he knew where he could get answers to both.

Sydney looked up from her glass of wine when she heard a knock at her front door, wondering which of the SAMCRO women had come to grace her with their presence since she hadn't heard a bike. She sighed as she pushed herself up from the table which had become the only place she was able to sit without thinking about Tig.

"Hey." Half-Sack spoke eagerly as soon as the door opened. "I brought you some dinner." He held up the take out bag from the diner. "Thought maybe you know, you wouldn't want to cook."

She couldn't help but smile at the sweet gesture and pleasant surprise, even if she knew it was just because he was curious about Tig. "Well, at least you aren't kissing my ass empty handed." She giggled, opening the door to invite him in. "I hope you got yourself something too?" She nodded to the bag.

"Oh… Uh no I ate early. It's okay, I'm not even hungr-"

"I guess we're sharing mine then." She took off down the hallway.

"Nah Syd it's okay, you need to eat-"

She cut him off and turned around to face him as he almost crashed into her due to the abrupt stop. "If you want me to tell you anything, the least you can do is keep me company. Sound good?"

He looked at her with fear in his eyes, searching her face for an indication that this was a set up. "Uh, yeah!" He answered finally when she raised a brow.

"Good." She nodded and turned back around, her hair whipping him in the process. "So, what are we eating?" She questioned as she gathered plates and cutlery.

"Burger and fries and some pie… Doreen said you needed something sweet."

"Of course she did." Sydney snorted and rolled her eyes, grabbing two beers from the fridge and joining him at the table.

The pair ate in relative silence other than Half-Sack's awkward comments here and there about the food until he finally worked up the courage to ask what he'd been itching to know all day...

"So why was that girl here?" He tried to speak casually but Sydney could see by the way he fidgeted and scratched his head, that this was anything but a casual question.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't." He shrugged.

"Kip." She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"I was with her, you know in Nevada. Kinda liked her."

"Sounds like it was more than kinda…" Sydney's heart broke all over again to find out that not only was she a victim of what took place this morning, he was too.

"It could never work though, right?"

"Right." She didn't have the heart to tell him why the brunette had made the trip… She hoped that a confident answer from someone he trusted would be enough to protect him from the harsh truth.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Sydney smiled softly. She loved that even though she knew that the poor prospect was crushed, he still smiled and had the strength to act like it didn't matter to him.

"What about Tig. You think that could never work?"

"Not anymore."

"Maybe things could be okay… You know, when he gets back…"

"Fighting with me before a run? I know the rules Kip…" She whispered, staring blankly into her beer bottle.

"Yeah… I guess so." He agreed sadly. He knew the rules too.

* * *

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**River - Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran**_

_**Ace of Hearts - Zella Day**_

_**when the party's over - Billie Eilish** _


	42. Out of Body

**Sorry again for another long wait (this one was unacceptably long) 😩 We Canadians have to take advantage of the two weeks of decent weather we get every year :/ **

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 42: OUT OF BODY**

It was Tig's second lonely night of misery in Nevada. There had been no progression with the Mayans; Jury and his crew were still being held hostage in Vegas with no explanation. He was pissed. This was supposed to be a short trip - a short trip that he was already frustrated with after having to leave things so messy - now he was stuck in Nevada for god knows how long.

He resorted to counting floorboards - an action that took him back to his military days when he would be stuck awake at night with no distractions. There were plenty of distractions in Nevada; young, tight, and willing distractions, but he needed to stay on track if he was going to get Sydney back. Indulging in some easy pussy to silence his guilt for ten minutes would only conjure up more self loathing, and self loathing was what'd caused him to lose her in the first place.

Sydney had convinced Half-Sack that keeping her company was considered "club business" which fell under his prospect duties. The two spent the night playing video games, eating junk, and drinking beer to occupy their crowded minds. Sydney was eternally grateful to have a friend in the club like Kip; someone she could trust with club issues _and_ personal issues, someone that knew when to comfort her instead of ask questions; she'd never had a friend like that before.

"I should probably get going…" It was nearing 3:00 a.m. and Half-Sack knew that he would be summoned to the clubhouse early.

"Will you stay?" Sydney asked shyly. Having someone around helped distract her from the sadness, while also providing her the sense of normalcy of having a man in the house.

"Uh… Are you sure?" He hesitated. "You know, I won't get in trouble or anything?"

"I have a guest room."

"Well then yeah, I could do that." He stood from the couch.

"Thank you." Before he knew it, she was wrapping him in her arms and squeezing him tight.

He chuckled nervously before smiling and hugging her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "Anytime." He meant it.

Sydney got herself ready for bed while Half-Sack tidied up the living of their mess, she felt the dread building, filling the pit of emptiness in her stomach as the time to lay down and be left alone with her thoughts neared closer and closer.

"Hey, Syd?"

"Yeah?" She snapped her head up from where it had fallen, catching a glimpse in the bathroom mirror of the hollowness behind her eyes.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked as she padded into the bedroom.

"Yeah." Concern overtook her face "Yeah, of course." She nodded, sitting down on her bed.

"It's nothin serious." He stopped her worrying. "I just… You know, have all these stories from Iraq and no one really pays attention to me…"

"Tell me." She nodded enthusiastically with bright eyes.

"Okay." He smiled. "You can lay down though, you know how I ramble…"

"That I do." She laughed, climbing under the covers and getting comfortable while he situated himself at the foot of her bed.

By the time he'd gotten through three stories about combat, weapons, and death, the fourth one about military barracks _finally_ had the desired effect and Sydney had fallen asleep. He smiled, gently getting up off of her bed and slowly dimming the light until the room was dark. He strolled to the guest bedroom feeling pleased with himself, he'd successfully managed to get her to sleep without any time to think about Tig.

Tig awoke to the sound of roaring Harley engines in the early hours of the morning. He shot out of bed, pulling on his jeans and grabbing his gun as he bounded down the hallway with Juice not far behind. He breathed a sigh of relief when the doors opened to reveal that Jury and the rest of the Indian Hills charter had made it back safely.

"Hey man." Tig greeted the President with a hug after tucking his gun away. "What happened? Mayans let up?"

"Yeah…" Jury pulled away. "Just took off. No explanation after a two-day surveillance." He hadn't had a good feeling about patching into the SOA from the start, and this was exactly why.

"Let's get the place locked down, Juice will show you the guns." Tig nodded to his younger brother, passing off the job so that he could get outside and call Clay after sensing Jury's suspicion.

"What?" Clay groaned after rolling over to answer his ringing phone at the offending hour.

"Mayans backed off, let Indian Hills ride back safe."

"What? And they never hit the clubhouse?" He scowled, nothing about this made any sense. "Maybe this whole thing is about Indian Hills… Aint got nothin to do with us."

"Jury, man… He seems pretty sure it's about us." Tig grimaced as he squinted in the rising sun.

"Stay up there a few more days. A show of good faith until we can offer up a proper explanation."

Tig opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. He'd been dying to get home, but he knew that the more he pushed his limits, the harder Clay would come down on him. "Alright. I'll check in if I hear anything else." He snapped his burner shut, sighing heavily as he dragged his ass back to bed.

Clay hadn't been fooled by Tig's attempt at obedience, but he would rather have a right hand who faked it, than a left hand who embraced it.

"What do we think?" Jax asked as he closed the door to the office where he'd followed Sydney after church.

"Whatever we aren't seeing is clouding the whole pool. This shit is _murky_." Sydney shook her head as she replayed Clay's report of the Indian Hills situation over and over in her head but no matter how many scenarios she ran through, there wasn't a single explanation that made complete sense. "What about Darby?"

Jax winced when she brought up the sensitive subject of the bald man, remembering the spat that it had caused between them only days earlier. "Hear me out…" She widened her eyes as she sat down, not wanting history to repeat itself. "He's the only one who wouldn't have a problem tipping off the Mayans and we know he has something to gain by doing it. We know he's pushing further and further into Charming. Even if he _is_ only selling in Pope, he's sending messages with those injured truckers."

"I don't know…" She had a point but Jax still felt like there was a vital piece of the puzzle missing. "Even if he _did_ tip off the Mayans, and they _did_ know that we were running guns up to Nevada, why would they stand guard for two days with no demands?"

"You're right." She groaned as she slumped over her desk. "They didn't intercept the drop, they didn't send a message. I'm at a loss." She spoke with heavy frustration.

"You find out about Hale?"

"Nah." She winced. "Saw him at the diner, he seemed cold but he _always_ seems cold. I'll need more time with him."

"I don't think you'll have a problem with that." He smirked.

"Probably not." She rolled her eyes and stood from the desk. "Maybe you'll be the one I throw a beating to in order to get myself locked up next time." She nudged him playfully.

"Ouch." He chuckled. "Guess I'll just have to watch my back." He tossed her a wink over his shoulder as he turned to leave.

"Oh by the way." She stopped him. "I talked to Gemma about Tara."

"About Tara?" He scowled. He still hadn't heard from Tara and even though A.T.F. was still causing them problems, he didn't see how she was still involved.

"Whatever Gemma knew about Tara and Kohn, I stopped her from pressing it further. I wanted you to know that I didn't tell her or Clay anything about why Kohn was harassing us."

"What did she know?"

"She knew Tara had the restraining order, gave her a gun for protection, knew it was Kohn and knew that he broke into your house. I don't know how, but none of it came from me."

"Fuck." Jax shook his head as he looked at his white shoes, running his hand over his face. "It was me."

"What?" Surprise overtook her face. She'd spent days anxiously awaiting what she thought would've been an inevitable confrontation.

"When Kohn messed up shit in my house and she was cleaning it up… I was pissed and said A.T.F. did it because of Tara, she must've put the rest together."

"Well that's a relief." She chortled, glad that she was clear of the possible accusations.

"What'd you tell her?"

"Same thing I told you. That Clay knowing is dangerous and would do the opposite of what she thinks telling him would."

He looked at her skeptically. Jax found it hard to believe that _anyone_ could convince his mother not to try to have Tara banished from the island.

"Don't worry Jaxy." She walked up to him slowly. "I pulled those heartstrings real tight. Mommy won't want to do anything that will get her little boy in trouble." She mock-pouted while tugging on the lapel of his blue flannel.

"We'll see about that." He laughed. "Thanks." He nodded, walking out of the office with a smile.

Unfortunately for Sydney, a slow week in the club didn't guarantee a slow week at the clubhouse - she was stuck on bar shift for the evening. She was exhausted from not only a very early church after a very late night, but from exercising all of her emotional strength to suppress anything she felt about what had happened with Tig. She knew that she had to face it sooner or later, but she hoped that maybe if she ignored it for long enough, it wouldn't be as bad when she finally allowed herself to deal with it.

Sydney spent most of her shift in a haze, operating like a robot, hearing nothing other than drink orders. As time went on she felt like she could barely keep her eyes open as everything blurred around her, all of the chatter fading into a faint ringing in her ears.

"Princess!" She was startled by Clay's voice, shaking her head and refocusing her eyes.

"Sorry." She blinked a few times. "What'd you want?"

"Take a break. I need to talk to you."

It was in that moment that Sydney decided she'd enjoyed her time of feeling like a robot, because the President's request filled her to the brim with anxiety. She followed him outside where he sat down on top of a picnic table and lit a cigar, sitting beside him and wringing her hands in an attempt to try and hide the trembling in her body.

"I uh… Never got to thank you." He began. "For the money, for McKeevy, for the Mayans… For everything you've done for this club."

"Ah… It was nothin." She smiled bashfully when she realized the wholesome nature of his intent.

"It wasn't." He shook his head confidently. "It was more than any of my guys cared to do."

"Well it was nothin to me… But if you wanna keep a tab and put that towards something like a patch in vote… I won't complain." She grinned.

Clay chuckled, bringing his cigar to his lips while she lit up. "So, how much of your own cash did you pad McKeevy's pay out with?"

Sydney's lips curled around her cigarette. "Entry fee was a couple g's but we made it all back."

"You're a good racer."

"Nah, you can thank Tig for that." She answered without thinking, looking away when she realized she'd just inadvertently rolled the welcome mat out for his inquisition.

"Tig…" He nodded slowly. "You wanna talk about that?"

"Not particularly." She scoffed.

"Had a feeling you'd say that." He smiled softly. "I think we need to, after the other day..."

"What's the matter Pres, can't get on board with a little iron play?" He chuckled, glad that whatever had happened between them hadn't crippled her sense of humour.

"That's not why I wanted to talk about it."

Now she was worrying again; worrying about the one thing she'd feared this whole time - that her relationship had impacted her dream. "It's like you said before - doesn't interfere with the club." She ground her teeth, keeping her voice level.

"That's not why I wanted to talk about it either." She scowled, now she was just confused. "I'm not concerned about your ability to separate shit with him. I know you can do your job. I'm concerned about _you, _how you're doing with it."

Normally, Sydney would ward off any kind of conversation like this, but a bit of reassurance about her position from not only the one person that she so badly wanted to impress - but the one person she admired most was not something she was eager to push away at the moment.

"I'll get over it." She spoke half in determination, half in hope. "Shit with him… Doesn't change what I want, doesn't change why I'm here."

"I'd hope not… Would hate to lose you over a shithead like Tig." The two shared a laugh.

Sydney returned from the talk with Clay feeling a little less dreary. After finishing up her shift, she found herself sitting at the bar listening to the mindless chatter of Jessica while staring into her rum and coke. She twirled the straw around in the glass of ice and watered down liquid, trying to gain enough strength to get herself out of the barstool and into her car but she couldn't seem to find it. She couldn't spend the night alone where she would have to face her emotions.

"Hey, Princess." Jax threw his arm around her shoulders as he and Chibs took the empty seats beside her. "You gonna dance with me?"

"Jax." She sighed with a small smile, looking between him and the Scot who she knew were trying to cheer her up. "I'm not really in the mood."

"Well then I guess we're just gonna have to get you in the mood." Jax shrugged, sharing a look with Chibs who did the same.

Half-Sack ran to the stereo when he saw Jax's nod, cutting off the rock music that was filling the clubhouse and replacing it with some of the trashy hip-hop that Sydney loved so much - much to the guys' dismay. By now they'd all had their fair share of her music, whether it was while she was driving or working in the bar and they _hated _it, but they were willing to set that aside tonight.

Sydney was shocked when she heard that not only were the guys offering to dance with her, but they were offering to dance to _her_ music. She sat at the bar for a few minutes while Jax and Chibs danced and sang the lyrics to her playfully - which apparently they'd learned sometime in the past few hours. She bit her lip and grinned, letting them make fools of themselves just long enough for her to join in to finish up the song. When she turned back to the bar, there were three tequila shots waiting for her while her music continued booming through the large speakers around the room. This was _definitely_ the kind of distraction she needed.

Half-Sack smiled from the corner of the room where he tucked his iPod that was shuffling Sydney's playlist behind the speaker as he watched her dance and sing like usual - like there was nothing eating her alive the way that he knew it was. He was glad that it hadn't taken the guys much convincing to help try and cheer her up, but he prayed that Tig would be back tomorrow to make things right because he knew that he wouldn't be able to hit three home runs in a row.

Jax tried his hardest to keep up with Sydney as she downed shots left and right, but the girl could out-drink him on a good day - a bad one was a whole other story. He laughed as they went back and forth singing and dancing playfully, enjoying that despite their rocky history, they could be each others' distraction. Regardless of how he felt about her when they were at the table, he felt stronger that the perky blonde was _far_ too good looking for the morally questionable Sergeant.

"Bobby!" Sydney hollered as she wobbled her way over to the older man sitting at a table with some croweaters, sitting down on his lap and swinging her feet up onto the table. "You aint going home to Precious tonight?"

Bobby scoffed. "I'd rather eat another one of your burritos than do that." He took a swig of beer.

"Why did you guys even get married." She scrunched up her face dramatically.

"Benefits." The pair both laughed at his answer.

"Hey!" She yelled in his ear in realization, making him wince. "You still owe me a shot!"

"What?" He laughed nervously. "Nah… That shit's expired."

"Nope." She grinned, hopping up from his lap and skipping down the hall. If the night could continue on like this where everyone knew it was better not to ask about Tig, she might actually be able to enjoy herself.

"What're you doin?" Jax laughed as he watched the short girl standing barefoot on the counter, rifling through mounds of pastas and sauces in the back of the cupboard.

She didn't answer, instead turning around with a grin as she held up her prize: the jar of habanero juice.

"You kept that?"

"I knew it'd come in handy. Now wipe that look off your face, you'll be laughing soon enough." She chuckled, motioning him over to her.

He quirked an eyebrow but obliged if it meant keeping up the chipper mood that torturing his brothers brought her, walking over and scooping up her shoes before turning around so that she could get on his back before he took off down the hallway.

"Jesus christ, can I kick this thing into second gear?" She laughed as she jabbed her heel into his hip which made his knees buckle in pain as he tumbled to the ground with her in tow.

The two laid on the wooden floor of the hallway laughing, the hysterics only increasing when Jax looked over to see her clutching the jar for dear life while she laid on her back with her legs propped up against the wall after the awkward fall.

"Are you-" He gasped for air as he tried to compose himself and help her up. "Are you okay?"

Sydney couldn't form proper words so she just nodded as she tried to get back to her feet, clutching Jax's arm as she fumbled to put her shoes back on.

"I think that's the wrong foot." He pointed at the wonky stiletto that her foot was crammed into.

"Oh shit." She began laughing hysterically again, almost falling as she reached down to pull the right shoe off of her left foot.

Once they were both steadily on their feet - well, as steadily as they could be - they made their way over to the bar where they filled a shot glass. "There's enough for more…" Sydney waved the jar in front of Jax's face.

"No." The VP backed away as he watched the satanic liquid slosh around in the jar.

"Awe Jaxy come on." She pouted. "I'll do one if you do one." She proposed with wide eyes.

The blonde man winced dramatically as he looked away, wearily looking back at her, unable to keep the smile off of his face when she beamed at him hopefully.

"You always get what you want?" He raised a brow in question before giving in, sighing as he grabbed two more shot glasses.

"Pretty much." She grinned, grabbing Bobby's shot and waltzing over to where he sat with sweat beading on his forehead.

"I should've gone home with my wife." Bobby groaned, staring with his beady eyes at the offending liquid that he knew was sure to end his night.

"Shoulda coulda woulda." Sydney shoved the shot into his hand. "Bottoms up!"

"You aint gettin no patch vote from me." The older man shook his head as he squeezed his eyes shut and poured the potent juice down his throat, forcing himself to swallow as everyone cheered around him before he got up and beelined to the bathroom.

Sydney and Jax watched Bobby fall through the bathroom door, laughing for a few more minutes until they finally calmed down enough to head back to the bar and face their own fate. When they reached the bar however, they saw that their shot glasses were gone. Sydney looked around with a creased forehead until she felt Jax grab her arm.

"You're gonna wanna watch this." He had a sly smirk on his face as he stared across the room.

She followed his gaze to where he saw Chibs standing with Cheryl, holding the two shot glasses... "No fucking way." Sydney shook her head with an overly excited grin, there was no way that something _this_ perfect could've happened without her assistance.

The blondes watched in anticipation as the pair tipped their shots back, howling as soon as their faces twisted and they spit the heinous concoction onto the floor, gasping for air as their eyes widened and their faces reddened.

Jax dove down behind the bar for cover, dragging Sydney down with him who was happy to toss Cheryl a wink before she disappeared behind the wooden barrier.

"Ugh, I knew you were a pussy." Sydney joked, playfully shoving the VP as she tried to get to her feet but couldn't, landing flat on her ass next to him and laughing until she decided to just stay on the floor.

"Here." He laughed, extending his arm so that she could lean against him whilst he snagged a bottle of tequila and unscrewed it for her while she leant back against the cool leather of his kutte, hoisting her feet up onto the shelf below the bar and tipping the bottle back.

Jax smoked multiple cigarettes between sips of tequila as he sat on the floor with her warmth comforting him. He came to a few hours later, realizing that his state of alcohol fueled dissociation had actually nodded him off. He blinked a few times as he tried to focus his eyes, noting that the music had stopped and the clubhouse had cleared out. He felt the heaviness in his eyes, knowing he was still drunk and wanting nothing more than to stay right where he was, but knowing that his body would curse him in the morning if he slept on the bar floor. He used all of his strength to ease himself off of the floor carefully, not wanting to rattle Sydney who had passed out over his arm with the empty bottle in her hand.

"Hey." He leaned down and brushed her hair out of her face before lifting her off of the ground, but he soon realized that Sydney drunk and Sydney unconscious weren't much different from one another. She blinked a few times as she tried to understand that she was now awake and had to stand, trying to plant her feet on the ground before finally looking down to see them dangling from the bartop she'd been placed on.

"Oh." She snorted, trying to focus her rolling eyes.

Jax chuckled, he was at least able to feel his own feet as he stood unsteadily in front of her, holding her upright. "What d'you wanna do?" He looked around the room awkwardly, knowing that he couldn't drive her home but that he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone and unconscious.

"Tired." Was all she could get out as her head rolled back before he caught her, holding her against his chest.

"Where do you suggest I take you?" He looked down at her with a raised brow.

"You're comfy." She looked up at him through her eyelashes as her chin rested against his collarbone. He chuckled again when even on the verge of passing out in his arms, she was still able to muster up enough capacity to flirt. "Bed." She closed her eyes and went limp against him.

Sydney lifted her head slightly from the crook of his neck after realizing that she was being carried, blinking through his long hair and seeing where he was taking her. "Not here." Panic filled her previously numb body as she pleaded with desperate eyes.

Jax cursed himself for not using his head - no matter how foggy it was - after working so hard to keep her occupied for the night. He nodded as he closed the door to Tig's room and made his way to Happy's old room instead, hoping she was too drunk to think about what had just happened and that she would just fall back asleep.

Sydney felt herself being placed on the foot of a bed, blinking lazily and looking up to see her arms wrapped around Jax while he tried to pull away. The situation was one all too familiar. The last time she found herself in a position like this, it was after Bobby's wedding; Bobby's wedding with Tig. _No_. She couldn't have those memories. Not now, not when she was about to be left alone in the dark.

Jax looked down to see her staring at him with those pained, glossy green eyes and rosy cheeks. He'd never questioned why Tig had fallen for her, but he questioned how Tig could've ever left her - maybe the Sergeant had more willpower against pussy than he thought.

He tensed when her stare didn't let up, becoming hyper-aware of her gentle touch holding him against her. His lazy eyes trailed down to her lips as she tilted her head back. He tried to fight the instinctual reaction that his compromised body was succumbing to easily, trying to use logic and reason but he didn't have the strength. He was drunk, exhausted, and lonely. He briefly thought about Tara, but then he thought about how she'd used him; played him to get what she wanted the same way she'd done when they were kids. The anger mixed with the alcohol nudged him further and further over the line, not thinking about anything other than what was right in front of him as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

They stayed in the position for a few seconds, swaying nervously as they both half-heartedly contemplated the predicament - a predicament neither of them would have ever anticipated. He brushed his nose across her cheek as he gently inched closer to her lips, gauging her reaction before he decided to go for it.

Sydney's entire body tensed when he finally kissed her. The kiss was tentative, but gentle and sweet nonetheless - nothing like the way that Tig kissed her. She squeezed her eyes shut, hating how repulsed she was by something that any girl in Charming would have killed for. She could barely feel her own heartbeat in her intoxicated state and yet, somehow, she still felt every drop of discomfort.

He pulled away when he felt her tense up, knowing he'd gone too far. He had known that it was a mistake before it even started, a mistake that never would've happened if the stars hadn't perfectly aligned. He felt horrible for unintentionally taking advantage of her fragile state, but his spiralling guilt was stopped when she gripped his shoulder to regain his attention.

"Don't stop." She whispered while shaking her head, avoiding his eyes that she knew would be full of pity. "Please." Her voice cracked. Everything about this felt wrong, but thinking about Tig felt worse.

He nodded, understanding the pain in her plea all too well. He closed his eyes before pressing his lips back to hers. He knew it was selfish, but she needed to forget - and so did he.

* * *

**For the Jax hoes… You're welcome. For the Tig hoes… I'm sorry. For the Happy hoes… Stay tuned.**

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**Backin' It Up - Pardison Fontaine ft. Cardi B**_

_**Money - Cardi B**_

_**Puke - Eminem**_

_**fake smile - Ariana Grande**_

_**Let Me Love You - Ariana Grande ft. Lil Wayne**_

_**2 - H.E.R.**_

_**Eyes Closed - Halsey**_


	43. Stripped

**aravenamongcrows on (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 43: STRIPPED**

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut as his lips met hers again, trying to ignore the loud voices in her head that the alcohol had somehow only managed to muffle. She didn't want to think about what she was doing, why she was doing it, or who she was doing it with. She exhaled through her nose as she relaxed her muscles, bringing her hands to his neck as she tried to focus solely on the physical aspect since the mental one was doing her absolutely no favors. Her discomfort finally began to fade and they found a groove that wasn't a clear indicator that he had no idea what she liked - unlike Tig who just seemed to know so naturally. His hands clutched her waist as things began to heat up slowly until she wove her fingers into his hair; his straight, blonde hair - she felt her entire body go ice cold.

Jax's forehead creased slightly when he felt her stiffen like a brick in his arms but he quickly composed himself, keeping his eyes closed - the entanglement was meant to be a distraction for her, not a reminder. He squeezed her hip comfortingly as he deepened the kiss, keeping up the rhythm until he felt a wetness against his cheek that he couldn't ignore.

"Hey." He pulled away with concern when he realized what the moisture was from, tilting her chin up to see tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Um, I-" She pulled her face from his grasp and looked to the ground as she shook her head, searching for an excuse but it was no use, she knew that even if she was capable of coming up with something, it wouldn't have passed.

"Why?" She squeaked as she stared at the ground as everything came crashing down. She hated Tig; what he'd done to her, what she'd resorted to because of him. She was better than this, and because of him she'd become weak - something she had always despised_. _"Why did he-" She couldn't finish the sentence as a pained cry swallowed up her words.

"Because he's an idiot." Jax lifted her head and nodded sincerely as he stared into her reddened eyes, realizing as the floodgates opened that this was going to require much more than a generic pep talk which he was in no state of mind to give.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair as he hugged her and swayed back and forth soothingly while she shook in his arms. It was the only thing he could think to say; sorry that she was so hurt, sorry that he hadn't been a better man, sorry that he was there to witness this - it was obvious that she had planned to ignore this for as long as possible and when she finally decided to face it, it wouldn't be in front of an audience.

"I-I loved him." She cried into his chest, her words broken up by sniffles and sobs. "And- he doesn't- e-even care. He knows how h-hard that is to earn from me and he, he j-just th-threw it away like nothing." Her complete lack of control over the honest words tumbling from her mouth was only making the blow that much worse. She wasn't embarrassed that he'd stopped; this wasn't the first time she'd stopped a man and at this rate, it wouldn't be the last - what she _was_ embarrassed about was the fact that she was violently sobbing in the arms of her biggest rival.

"I know." Jax nodded, stroking her long hair with his jaw clenched. He could tell that she was more angry than anything - whether it was angry with Tig or angry with herself - and he knew the feeling all too well, bringing his mind back around to Tara, feeling his own anger seeping in.

"H-he said he was gonna m-marry me." The high pitched squeak of her voice pulled Jax from his inner turmoil, looking down at her as she shivered and heaved.

"Sydney." He pulled away gently, guiding her to sit down on the bed gently while still holding her. "I need you to breathe." He tried to initiate some kind of eye contact with her to convey his seriousness as he grew worried over her lack of oxygen.

"I can't-" She took a deep, shaky breath that barely reached her lungs before another chorus of sobs broke out and she shook her head in frustration.

He looked around the room, knowing that he had to do _some_ good after initiating such a mess before coming up with one idea of what might just calm her down. "I'll be right back." He nodded assuringly as he wiped some stray tears from around her eyes so that she would be able to see that he wasn't leaving her before getting up and stepping into the bathroom.

Happy jerked awake on Maya's couch at the sound of his ringing phone. "Yeah?" He spoke down the line with no indication that he was anything less than alert just a few seconds ago.

"Hey, you still in town?"

He flinched when he looked down to see Maya glaring up at him, no longer asleep and clearly unhappy about it. "Yeah." He answered the Redwood VP.

"Think you could come down to the clubhouse? It's Syd, she-"

"What happened?" His black eyes widened as he straightened up and his heart rate doubled. "She okay?"

"She's pretty upset..." Jax winced while listening to the muffled sounds of heartbreak coming from outside the door, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he stared at the tiles below his sneakers. Happy was his safety net, but even the stoic Nomad was worried.

"Where is she?" Happy stood from the couch abruptly with no regard for Maya laying on his chest.

"In your dorm, I'll stay with her until you get here." Happy nodded, forgetting that his gesture couldn't be seen over the phone before he snapped it shut and reached across the seatback for his kutte, pulling it on and stalking towards the door.

"Hello?" His long strides were stopped by an angry voice, turning back to Maya scowling at him deeply. She didn't appreciate being woken up on a good day, let alone being woken up and tossed around with no explanation, especially when a _she_ was involved.

"I have to go." He glanced down at the phone in his hand, thinking that much had been obvious but apparently not.

Maya exhaled sharply through her nostrils, forcing herself to calm the temper that had caused her countless problems in the past - which was only amplified after being so rudely awoken - remembering _who_ he was and that technically there was no label on their relationship, if this _was_ even a relationship.

"Okay, I'll see you later?"

Happy nodded, saying nothing else as he slipped through the front door, leaving no trace of his presence other than the frustration in Maya's chest. She groaned once the door closed, rolling her eyes. Happy's silence had both irritated her and intrigued her when she'd met him, but right now she was heavily focused on the former.

This kind of emotional tidal wave would've been hard to surf on a good day, but Sydney stood no chance against the waters whilst drunk and heartbroken. She became painfully aware of how loud she was wailing in the empty room, sitting up and reaching for one of the pillows behind her but losing her balance and falling back thanks to the dizziness that was setting in - which only made her cry harder. She curled up into a ball, shutting her eyes and biting down on her fingers to try and stop her chattering teeth until she felt herself being lifted from the bed once again.

Jax placed Sydney on the bed in the new room - Happy's _current_ room. If the blue eyed man was sober he probably would've told himself that he was moving her to help ease _her_ guilt, but he didn't have the capacity to trick himself - he knew his actions were completely self-serving by not wanting Happy to catch on to what had gone on, especially while she was _this_ intoxicated. He found himself almost glad for her outburst - things would be much less complicated this way.

He looked down at her sadly as her tears quickly soaked the fresh pillowcase, crouching down as he brushed the damp hair out of her face. "Hap's coming, okay?" He spoke softly, hoping that the news would calm her down enough to ease his worry until Happy could take over. The action seemed to work as a bit of the sting in her chest subsided and her heavy sobs reduced to silent tears and deep breaths, thankful that she at least wouldn't have to sleep alone.

Happy's worry over Sydney hadn't faded even after finding out that she wasn't harmed. He skidded onto the compound, not bothering to properly align his bike with the railing as he ripped his helmet off and stomped inside. In his world, Sydney sad enough to warrant a housecall may very well have been _worse_ than Sydney getting hurt.

Jax flinched when the door to the dorm flew open, looking up to see Happy standing with a deep scowl as he assessed the scene. The blonde man nodded curtly before standing, walking over to give an explanation that he hoped would satisfy the Tacoma Killer, but he wasn't given the chance as the bald man stormed past him and over to Sydney where he wrapped her in his arms - a gesture that re-ignited her sobbing.

"Que paso?" He asked her quietly but not invasively, knowing that a proper explanation would take some warm up - especially if she was as drunk as she smelled.

Jax took this as he cue to leave, glad that he had successfully evaded an interrogation. He gave a sympathetic smile to nobody in particular before heading out the door, thankful that the situation had worked itself out before things got too ugly.

"Where you goin?" Happy's sharp tone cut right through the VP's peace when he noticed him trying to slip out. He'd had his suspicions when he got the call, then again upon his arrival to see Sydney so inebriated, but the only thing that had stopped him from cornering the blonde man right then and there was the fact that he was unharmed, which he wouldn't have been if he had tried anything that Sydney wasn't okay with.

"Couch?" Jax tried to keep his cool, wishing that the ordeal hadn't sobered him up as much as it had because now he could feel the guilt and anxiety creeping in along with the fear.

"I'm gonna have questions." Happy narrowed his black eyes.

"Whatever you need." He nodded before shutting the door, exhaling the breath he'd unintentionally been holding.

"Que paso?" Happy repeated now that they were alone as he tried to pull her off of him so that he could look into her eyes.

"Hap." Sydney wailed, lifting her face from his chest where she'd effectively soaked the white t-shirt under his kutte.

"What happened?" He repeated himself, firmer this time as he grew impatient - he knew it had to be something serious if she was crying like this, and in front of _Jax_ nonetheless.

"I'm a mess." She shook her head pitifully.

"Why?" She lowered her head. Even completely shitfaced, she was coherent enough to know how much this would disappoint Happy; the person that had devoted years of his life to teaching her that she was better than everything she was feeling right now.

"Because of _him_?"

The softness in his tone brought out another wave of sobs. Maybe he wasn't disappointed in her, maybe he wouldn't think she was as weak as she felt. "I-" Her eyes clung to the rarely seen softness behind his. "I'm supposed to be h-happy. I'm g-getting everything I w-wanted." Her rapid breathing began to slow, turning to hiccuped blubbering as she spoke the vulnerable words to the one person she was comfortable with. "I'm s-supposed to be at my strongest, b-but I'm weak." Her voice cracked as the painful words left her lips, looking back down as fresh tears coated her cheeks.

"You aint weak."

"Look at me!" Her head snapped up as she screamed at him, her heart clenching with sadness as she crumpled immediately, weeping with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"You're gonna make yourself sick." She just shook her head in protest, burying her face further into her knees. Happy knew that Sydney could handle her liquor better than most men, but she had to be _very_ intoxicated if she was slurring her deepest sorrows, and the extreme emotional exertion wasn't going to do her stomach any favors. "Stay here." He stood from the bed.

Jax had gotten himself somewhat comfortable on the worn leather of the old, beat up couch that occupied the clubhouse. He laid facing the seatback, growing restless as a pit formed in his queasy stomach the more he thought about the events that had transpired. He turned over where he came face to face with Happy Lowman.

"Fuck, man." He flinched, shooting up from the makeshift bed.

"How much did she drink?" Happy's question was phrased more like a statement; a statement that demanded an answer.

"I don't know." Jax widened his eyes, rubbing his temple as he tried to recall Sydney's consumption. "Fuck ton of Tequila, way more than me." His blue eyes shifted uncomfortably when he realized he may have just unintentionally outed himself.

"Why's she cryin?"

"Shit with Tig… It's got her pretty messed up." He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"That doesn't sound like her." Happy searched the younger man's face for any trace of dishonesty.

"I tried to take her to bed - took her to his room without thinking, that's what started it." Technically, it wasn't a lie.

"Okay." He nodded, disappearing just as quickly as he'd popped up.

"Drink." Happy held the glass of water to Sydney's mouth, trying as hard as he could to be patient with her as her lips quivered while she tried to take a sip. As if she wasn't experiencing enough shame tonight, the second that the water trickled down her throat, she felt it - throwing her hand over her mouth as she ran to the bathroom.

Happy watched in amusement as she stumbled in her heels and fell to her knees in front of the toilet, walking over and gathering her hair in his hands as she threw up pure alcohol.

"Told you." He smirked.

"Fuck off." She managed a small smile before heaving again, expelling more liquid.

After what felt like hours of retching with no end in sight, the contents soon turned black, indicating alcohol poisoning as if things hadn't been bad enough.

"Should go to the hospital, little girl." Happy shook his head as she choked on stomach acid.

Sydney shook her head, more tears coming to her eyes at the thought. She tried to take a deep breath, knowing it would induce more vomiting, which was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to rid her body of all of this, all of the tears, all of the sadness, all of the vile fucking substance that made her act like this in the first place.

"Need to shower this off then." Happy needed her to sober up as much as possible so that she could sleep this off if he was going to let her off with no visit to the ER to get her stomach pumped.

All Sydney wanted to do was go to bed and silence her conscience, but she knew that Happy wouldn't be having that. She nodded when she finally felt stable, bracing herself on the edge of the bathtub while he helped lift her to her feet, guiding her over to the sink so that she had something to lean against.

"You gonna be okay?" He raised a brow as he looked deep into her eyes, he wasn't all that confident that she would be able to get undressed and into the shower safely.

She hesitated before nodding as her head got heavier and heavier by the second. Normally she would've appreciated his help while she was so exhausted, but she had finally managed to calm down and the last thing she wanted was him helping her undress to trigger another episode.

Happy respected her wishes, giving a curt nod before he started the water. "Door open." He ordered before setting out in search of something she could sleep in.

Sydney stumbled around the bathroom trying to shed her clothing before finally climbing into the shower, jumping back and slamming into the wall when she felt the temperature of the water. "Hap it's too cold." She whined when he came racing in to be sure she hadn't fallen.

"Need to sober up." He shook his head with his lips pursed, nodded towards the stream of water.

"Hap." She pouted.

"Girl." He narrowed his eyes until she finally obeyed, walking over and taking a seat on the closed toilet lid so that he could be sure that she saw the task through.

Sydney took a deep breath as she stepped under the icy stream, closing her eyes as she thoroughly wet her hair and let the water trickle over her face. Her body shivered under the unforgiving temperature and before she knew it, she was crying again - peacefully this time though. The hot tears were a pleasant contrast from the cold water and the sound of the shower raining down onto the floor of the bathtub masked the sounds of her sniffling.

Happy waited a generous twenty minutes for her to finish up when she proved to enjoy the cold water more than anticipated, before he started worrying again. "Syd?" He got no answer. He stood from the toilet and ripped the shower curtain back to see that at some point she had sat herself down on the floor of the bathtub and had fallen asleep under the apparently soothing stream.

"Hey." He shook her shoulder, waking her as he shut off the water. "Bed."

She immediately began shivering as she regained consciousness, taking his outstretched hand as she tried to keep her balance before he wrapped her in a towel and left so that she could change into the t-shirt and shorts he'd put on the sink for her.

After getting dressed, Sydney looked at herself in the mirror. She took a shaky breath, wishing that her vision was as blurry as it had been before the sobering shower because the image she was faced with was not a pretty one. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy despite the cold water which had turned her lips blue. She instinctively reached for her necklace, blinking in surprise when her fingers made contact with the shirt instead - forgetting that the gold pendant was still in Tig's room. Her lips started quivering as her eyes welled up again, angrily turning away from the mirror and stomping out of the bathroom, crawling into bed where she buried her face into Happy's bare chest, clinging to his comfort and warmth.

"You're getting me all wet."

"Put your shirt back on then." She managed a watery laugh. If there was anything that could still bring her some kind of joy in a time like this, it was annoying Happy.

"You ruined my shirt."

"I did not ruin your shirt." She rolled her eyes through the tears, hugging him tighter until she finally began to drift off to sleep in the favorable location, the only thing stopping her was the pit of guilt that began to form in her stomach - a pit that was only getting deeper and deeper as she cuddled up next to another man. She took a deep breath, telling herself over and over that she had nothing to be guilty for. Tig had left her, and nothing she did tonight could be worse than what he was doing right now.

Happy slept on his back like a rock, as he usually did, waking up when Sydney stirred against his chest. His eyes opened slowly as the warmth spread through his body; a pleasant, nostalgic feeling that he had grown unaccustomed to since she had gotten with Tig.

"I miss this." He heard a faint whisper as he rubbed her hair between his fingers, his brow creasing as he took his eyes off of the ceiling fan, wondering if it was his conscience talking or if it had been her - getting his answer when he felt her nails tracing the tattoos on his chest.

Sydney felt like she'd been hit by a bus both physically _and_ emotionally. She had vastly underestimated the combination of a bottle of Tequila and a broken heart. She laid with Happy in silence for a while before finally working up the strength to sit up, wincing in pain as she did so.

"You need food and water." Happy ordered as she attempted to get up for the day.

"Yeah, yeah." She groaned.

"Why'd Jax call me?" He figured he'd waiting long enough for proper answers, deciding to try again now that she was coherent and seemingly calm.

"I don't know." She tensed, immediately being taken back to the exact thing she wanted to forget.

"You wouldn't be cryin in front of him for no reason."

"I'm fine." She lied, hating how well he knew her in this moment. She knew that he knew, but she couldn't make herself say it.

"You were in rough shape last night."

"Drop it." She snapped. She didn't want to think about last night. Any of it. For once, she wished that she was someone who blacked out and forgot drunken nights, but instead she was stuck with the burden of memory that she wished she could permanently erase. She had been stupidly drunk enough to think that hooking up with Jax would make her forget about Tig, but now she had to forget about them both.. She'd thought that being heartbroken and drunk was bad, but she was quickly realizing that being heartbroken and embarrassed was much worse.

"You should talk to her." Happy leaned up on his elbows, nodding with his strong chin. "The tart from Nevada." He was confident that Tig would be doing everything that he could to make things right when he got back, but Tig was known to be a wildcard and after last night he had no idea if Sydney even wanted him back, but if anyone could change her mind it would be Cherry.

"So I can have my heart broken all over again? Make a fool of myself like I did last night by crying over a man? You taught me better than that." She spit angrily.

"I didn't want you crying over pussies that only wanted one thing. Love is different, you gotta feel that shit."

"Yeah?" She cocked her head with a snarl. "And what the fuck would you know about love?"

* * *

**This was fueled by an incredibly rare Jax dream and the sadist in me couldn't not spiral off the idea :/ ~trust the process~**

_**Songs for this chapter:**_

_**Playboy Style - Clean Bandit ft. Charli XCX & Bhad Bhabie**_

_**Cinnamon Girl - Lana Del Rey**_


	44. Twofold

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

**As usual, a huge thank you to my wonderful beta readers who helped me with one of my favorite chapters, I couldn't do it without you guys❤️**

* * *

**CHAPTER 44: TWOFOLD**

Happy fired up his Dyna with a hardened as a result of Sydney storming out of his bed. Even though he worried about her being alone right now, he hoped that the timing of his departure for the glock run up to Tacoma would push her to seek out Cherry for the answers that he couldn't make himself give her. He _did_ however have a backup plan to cheer her up in case she continued to be as stubborn as he knew she could be, which helped to ease his guilt over leaving her when she needed him most.

He had just lifted his kickstand when he saw Jax approaching on his bike. He felt his face turning to a scowl and his grip tightening around the handlebars. He kicked the metal stand back down, cutting the engine and removing his helmet as the VP approached.

Jax parked his bike quickly when he noticed the Nomad lingering by the bikes, hoping for an update after Sydney had stomped out of the clubhouse this morning. "Hey man, how's Syd doing?" He asked as he removed his own helmet.

"Sad."

"Yeah I figured. That's gonna take a bit to get over… Especially when Tig gets back." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah. It's a good thing you were there last night, someone else might've tried to take advantage of her."

Jax searched Happy's face for an indicator that he was testing him, but the man's infamous stature gave away nothing. "Yeah, me too…" He nodded, erring on the side of caution. "You don't have to worry about her here man… We care about her."

"I hope so. Cause if I found out anyone tried to hurt her, it would be a lot worse than what I did to Tig."

"What'd you do to Tig?" He scowled, this was news to him.

Happy let his devious smile serve as his answer as he restarted his engine and took off out the lot. He might've been a ruthless man, but he was a ruthless man who practiced respect and loyalty. He wasn't going to challenge a superior without a damn good reason, and the damn good reason he had wanted no part in causing a scene. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to remind the cocky VP that he'd never been caught for the dozens of hits he'd carried out over the years, and he would always protect his family first.

Sydney ambled into the Charming drugstore in search of Advil. Out of all the mornings, of course it was this one that she discovered her medicine cabinet to be empty. She blinked a few times when she entered the store, trying to adjust to the light even under the oversized black sunglasses that masked a large portion of her face.

She eventually reached the correct aisle, standing silently as she zoned out in front of the rows of pill bottles as her mind raced with the aftermath of last night's breakdown that she would soon be faced with. She hadn't missed the stares she'd gotten from Bobby and Juice when she left the clubhouse later than intended this morning, knowing they were wondering where she'd slept and who she'd slept with, which brought her to the next _major_ problem: Jax. He would never respect her after last night, never see her as an equal. Everyone would come to the conclusion that she' brought him to; that she was just some damaged groupie who could handle a gun. It was the same conclusion that the guys in San Bernardino had all secretly come to, no matter how much respect and dignity she carried herself with. Her reputation in SAMCRO was all she had to get herself anywhere near earning a patch, and that reputation had been destroyed by one stupid decision, a stupid decision caused by Tig.

She angrily swiped the extra-strength Advil from the shelf, knocking a few stray bottles off in the process but choosing to ignore them as she stomped to the checkout and tossed a twenty dollar bill on the counter, leaving without her change. She was stopped dead in her tracks by the blazing sun on her sensitive nervous system, blinking wildly behind her sunglasses and clutching her head as it throbbed in pain. She stumbled over to the sidewalk as she tried to regain her bearings, finally looking up from the ground when she heard someone trying to get her attention.

"Hey! I know you." Cherry nodded as she recognized the long blonde hair and full lips of the girl standing in front of her. "You're the Sergeant's old lady." She couldn't believe how lucky she'd gotten after days of trying to figure out how she could possibly work things out in her favor.

To say that Sydney was stunned would be the understatement of the century. She pulled her sunglasses onto the top of her head in disbelief with the little tart who had the balls to fuck her man, jump charters for him, and then approach her in the street.

"Oh you skateboard?" The brunette pointed between them on the sidewalk. "That's so cool."

Sydney looked down at the skateboard that had been set aside by one of the kids playing a few feet away. "Yeah, I do." She bent down to pick it up. "But contact sports have always been more my thing." She smiled sarcastically before pulling back and using all of her force to swing the skateboard into her face. She felt a rush of satisfaction wash through her exhausted body as the sound of the little slut's nose breaking filled her ears and blood poured onto the concrete where she fell to the ground.

"Oh my god! My nose!" She cried. "Why would you do that to me?" She looked up at Sydney with tears in her eyes as people swarmed to help.

Sydney's adrenaline rush lasted all of twenty seconds before the weight of her actions came crashing down on her. She wasn't usually a remorseful person, but the way that Cherry looked at her with betrayal ticked something in her brain, perhaps the part of her brain that was more logical than heartbroken. She shook the thought away as she stared blankly at the chaotic scene, but her conscience just formulated a new reason to feel bad: the fact that once again, she was acting out harshly because of Tig.

She took a shaky step backwards, then another before she realized that she couldn't stand anymore as the bitter reality enveloped her, stumbling back as she dropped to the ground, sitting on the curb as her ears rang with the blurred sound of sirens.

"What's all that about?" Hale asked Unser with a small smirk as he watched their two newest members of the force scrambling to get out to their first solo call.

"Assault on Main Street, a blonde and a brunette, female."

"A blonde?" Hale knew what that meant.

"Blonde struck the brunette, stayed on the scene. Brunette is en route to ." Eglee, the female officer reported.

"Hey!" Hale hollered to the trainees. "You bring her to me." He ordered.

"Sure thing." Eglee nodded, leading her much less confident, male partner out the door of the station.

Unser looked to Hale with a raised eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He knew that the blonde had to be Sydney, but he hadn't gotten a call or a warning about her from Clay, so he let his deputy continue on with his false sense of power, hoping it would keep him from seeking it out in other areas - areas that the Chief needed to keep under _his _control.

"I'm really sorry Kip…" Cherry had managed to get the Charming hospital staff to track down Half-Sack and in a major stroke of luck, she'd been able to get him to hear her out. They had been able to get everything out on the table and clear the air, no more assumptions or rumours clouding their vision, but she was more optimistic about moving forward than he was.

Cherry felt horrible about Sydney. She had let her naivety get in the way of her logic, forgetting that being respectful and respected in Indian Hills for so many years did not automatically transfer to the foreign charter. Never in a million years had she expected that showing up in Charming for Half-Sack would look like she was jumping charters for Tig - the person who had pushed her to follow her heart in the first place.

"I'm sorry if I got people hurt…" She looked down at the white and blue pattern on her hospital gown.

Half-Sack was conflicted. He understood now why Sydney had been so upset, but he also now knew the truth. The problem would be getting Sydney to believe it. "Do you have any thoughts about pressing charges against Sydney?"

"Never." Cherry shook her head.

"I don't know if this can work." The pale man tried to talk himself out of what he was feeling, knowing that he wasn't in any position to be making risky moves behind the club's back.

"It can." Cherry gave a small smile, grabbing his arm and pulling him down to the bed.

"Okay." He sighed as he gave in to her force and fell to the mattress. "That can't work, okay? Not after what went down."

"I'll make things right with her. With everyone."

"Nah, you don't understand Cherry. Syd - she's not easy to convince."

"Just give me one last dance… We can take it from there." She looked into those blue eyes in the same affectionate way that she had their entire first night together in Indian Hills.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You know cause… If, you know-" His babbling was cut off by her yanking him to her lips where he gave up, deciding that if someone was willing to go up against Sydney, Gemma, _and_ the club for him, it was worth a shot.

Sydney stared at the bronze coloured metal desk in the room at the police station where she was waiting to be booked for the assault. The last time she'd been in this room waiting to be booked for an assault, it had been intentional. This time, it was the result of her impulsive temper that she cursed herself for not being able to control. _All because of him._

"You're becoming one of our regulars." She looked up to see the warm smile of David Hale.

"I told you before Davey, I'm getting more popular than you." She smiled, not having enough strength to fake what usually would've been a much cockier grin.

"Almost as popular as you are around the clubhouse." He joked back harshly.

Sydney tensed, an uncomfortable chill running through her veins as the salty comment stung in the fresh wound. She knew that he didn't know, she didn't even know if anyone else knew, but _she_ knew.

"You jealous?" She tried to cover up the delay with a dirty smile and a wink.

The hesitation unfortunately didn't go unnoticed by Hale. "You okay?" He'd only been matching her playful energy, but he felt bad the instant that she faltered, reverting to his usual serious self and remembering why she was there in the first place - noting her disheveled appearance for the first time since he'd entered the room.

"Yeah." She forced a smile. "Let's just get this over with."

"Where's Syd?" Clay approached Jax in the garage after having searched the entire compound.

"She had a rough night, probably at home recovering."

"Tig?"

"Tequila." The blonde man scoffed with a smile. He finished up the car he'd been working out, wiping off his hands on a shop towel as he headed into the office to clock out for his lunch break.

"Hey, you know where Sydney is? Can't get ahold of her." Gemma peered over her reading glasses at her son, figuring he was the last person who would know but deciding to try her luck anyways since nobody else seemed to be able to give her an answer and he may be able to save her a trip off of the compound.

Jax faced the same question from his mother as he did from his stepfather, but he knew he couldn't give the same answer. He might have been able to cover their asses with Clay, but Gemma was a whole other story.

"Yeah, she had a pretty rough night last night - alcohol poisoning. I talked to Hap this morning and he was going to check on her before he left. I'm sorry, I was supposed to let you know she wouldn't be here today."

"Shit." Gemma blinked in surprise to hear that Sydney had been put out of commission by alcohol. "This have anything to do with Tig?"

Jax nodded sadly. "I think you should talk to her tomorrow when she's feeling better. She could use the support." He knew that if anyone could get Sydney back on her game, it was Gemma.

Gemma nodded. She would definitely be talking to Sydney, but it wouldn't be to give her the kind of support that Jax had suggested. The matriarch was going to keep driving the Tig train until it rolled off of the rails.

Maya paced back and forth in her kitchen, draining the glass of whiskey in her hand before scurrying over to the counter for a refill. She'd intended to return back to her pacing once she'd set the bottle down, but she ended up gulping the entire portion and reaching into her back pocket for her cellphone. She knew that Happy had a run to make and that he would've been leaving early this morning anyways, but she couldn't get last night out of her mind.

Happy excused himself from his group of Tacoma brothers to answer his ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Hey!" Maya replied far too enthusiastically, overcompensating for not wanting to sound needy or worried. "Did you make it to Tacoma okay?"

"Yeah." Happy's lip turned up in confusion, of course he'd made it safe. "Why?" It wasn't completely out of character for Maya to call him or for him to call her, but it was only ever for the purposes of confirming that he could go to her house. They didn't do small talk.

"I wasn't sure after last night." Maya racked her brain for a way to ask what last night was about, a sly smirk coming across her lips when she landed on the perfect cover. "Thought maybe you had to go help your mom."

"My mom is fine."

"Oh, who'd you run out for then? It sounded important." She spoke casually.

"It was."

Maya's eyes almost rolled into the back of her skull. She had been on a good track but the realization that she needed to speak his language, one sentence at a time, had roadblocked her path to victory - and answers.

"Okay. I'll see you when you get back then I guess."

"Okay."

Sydney sat on the edge of the bed in the dingy cell with her head in her hands. The emotional turmoil was more than enough to rival the discomfort of even the largest of hangovers. She took a deep breath, trying to tell herself that she was just overthinking the whole ordeal - something she apparently did a lot of these days - but every logical solution she came up with was squashed by another part of her psyche pulling her in a different direction. Her head was telling her to bolt, get as far away from the embarrassment as she could and start over somewhere else the same way that she had started over in Charming, somewhere that she wouldn't make the same mistake. Her heart was telling her to stay, that she could rise above the doubt of these men the same way that she had done her whole life, and to keep fighting for what she'd always dreamed of. And her gut was telling her that she had it all wrong, that this was just some kind of punishment for thinking she'd be able to outrun her feelings forever, and that things would work out if she gave them a proper chance.

It was the rare moments like these that Sydney realized why little girls were supposed to grow up with mothers to guide them through life, but she quickly extinguished that fire. There was no good that her mother would've done her even if she _had_ been around. She thought about her dad instead - reluctantly, nonetheless, but it was better than thinking about her mom.

"You wanna make a phone call?" She was pulled from the imaginary pep talk her dad was giving her about how these worries were irrational and if they weren't irrational, then they were irrelevant, by Hale standing at the bars with a sympathetic smile for the clearly uncomfortable woman.

Sydney thought about it for a few seconds, _really _thought about it. She thought about calling Gemma, or Happy's mom, or Packer, knowing that she could rely on them to continue the talk that her dad had been giving her.

She shook her head as a single tear slid down her cheek. "Got nobody I wanna talk to." She smiled sadly before closing her eyes again.

Sydney spent the remainder of the day in the quiet cell, allowing herself to feel every bit of sadness that she wanted. If she was going to be vulnerable and miserable about it, she figured a jail cell was the best place to do it.

By the time the sun began to get lower in the sky, she felt the pain and pity wash away as an odd sense of peace took it's place. She took a deep, cleansing breath as she sat up from the bed. She was going to keep her word. Nothing was going to change why she came to Charming.

Hale stood just past the threshold as he gazed upon her. He wondered how it was possible that someone could be so effortlessly attractive, captivating the attention of the strongest of souls without even trying. His forehead creased when he couldn't help the pang that he felt in his heart as she sat in the empty room. He tried to shake it away, knowing that he shouldn't feel bad for her. She had broken the law, assaulted a seemingly innocent girl, but for some reason he still wanted to be the one to take the frown off of her face, and he hoped that the news he brought would be able to do just that.

"Hey." He greeted as he finally entered the cellroom for a second time.

"Just can't stay away from me, huh?" She smiled, figuring that the best way to get back in the game was to dive in head first.

"It's my job." He smirked as he walked over to her cell, feeling the guilt wash away when her usual demeanor came back into light.

"Well I guess a job where you have to wear khakis can have perks after all." Her lips curled up when a blush creeped up his neck he unlocked the gate.

"Charges have been dropped. Someone's here to pick you up." Sydney's brows knit in confusion. She wasn't surprised that Cherry wasn't pressing charges. But with her track record building steadily in the small town, why wasn't the state?

Hale exchanged a glance with her as he opened the squeaky door. He knew what her scowl was for, but he wasn't going to come right out and tell her that he had been behind her evading charges.

A light bulb went off in Sydney's brain. She thought back to the Mayan chase a couple of weeks ago when he had stopped her, the way he had taken so long to book the speeding fine and then the cryptic way he'd told her not to get any more tickets. She tried to tell herself that the conclusion was crazy, but then she remembered the way that he'd insisted on being the escorting officer when she'd hit the cop.

"Thank you…" She clutched onto his hand that was around the metal bar, looking into his honest blue eyes with sincerity. She didn't care why he was covering for her, she would find that out later. Right now, she was thankful. Not just thankful that he was keeping her out of jail, but thankful that he had just narrowed her pool of suspects for the Mayan informant. If he was working dirty _against _them, he wouldn't be putting his job on the line to keep her _out_ of jail. His reasons were personal.

Hale bit his lip, looking for the right words to say that wouldn't possibly incriminate him. He snorted as a smile pulled at his lips. "I'm just doing my job." He settled on the popular phrase that he knew would be the easiest to pass off - the one that he used to answer all of her invasive questions, only this time it wasn't the truth.

Sydney collected her belongings from the young newbie on the force - the nervous brown haired man that she knew wouldn't make it through his probationary period if his life depended on it. She followed Hale out to the front of the station house, anxiously waiting to see who Hale had called to pick her up.

"Hey killer." She was met with the playful grin of none other than Jax Teller.

She rolled her eyes and forced a smile. At that point, she would've taken anyone over who she got - even Gemma. Jax was the last person she wanted to be stuck in a car alone with. She may have found some peace in that cell, but courage had yet to join the party.

"I didn't think you'd wanna ride bitch." Jax nodded towards the tow truck as they exited the government building.

"You thought right." She scoffed.

He put the keys in the ignition and started the engine as Sydney put her seatbelt on, backing the truck out of the lot and beginning the drive.

"Hale wasn't the one who tipped off the Mayans." Sydney broke the silence before it lasted long enough to be considered awkward.

"This another one of your 'get into jail free' cards?" Jax looked over with a raised brow.

"Nah, this one wasn't intentional." She chuckled, answering honestly since she'd figured the details of the incident had already spread through the town like wildfire.

"Workin out some of that anger." He nudged her with a smirk.

"You might be next." She joked back.

"Ah shit." Jax groaned. "Forgot my wallet in the garage. Do you mind if we stop? Everyone's gone home for the day."

Sydney shrugged, appreciative for his consideration but she would have to face them sooner or later. "Do they know?" She drawled as she stared out the window at the passing houses.

"Nah, I took care of it." Jax smiled smugly, clearly pleased with his deceptive skills.

Sydney's brain began working overtime now, wondering what exactly he thought she was referring to. "I took care of _everything_. Nobody knows anything. I said you had alcohol poisoning, slept in Hap's old dorm and that you'd be back tomorrow." He clarified once he saw her gears start turning.

"Thank you." Sydney finally replied after a few seconds of processing, trying to figure out the proper reply. Her initial reaction had been surprise that not only had he gone out of his way to help her, but that he had managed to pull it off, but then the poisonous thoughts had begun to seep in and her mind told her that he was only doing it because he felt sorry for her after last night.

Jax pulled the truck into the lot, stopping by the front gate. "I'll be right back." He tossed her wink and one of his infamously charming smiles. He jogged across the lot to the garage where he slipped in the office door.

"Okay she's in the truck." He reported to Half-Sack.

Cherry took a deep breath and squeezed her phone when it buzzed with her signal to move in. Not only was she worried that she wouldn't be able to repair the damage she'd done, she was worried that she'd be sent away harsher than she had been the first time. She took the step of faith, walking out from behind the building and along the chain link fence until she spotted the truck, her heart beating faster and faster as she approached.

Sydney looked up from her lap where she'd been counting the threads in her black leggings when she heard footsteps approaching. She rolled her eyes when she saw the little tart once again, sporting two black eyes and a bloody nose this time. She took a deep breath as she pulled the handle and stepped out of the truck, ready to send a stronger message this time.

"Look, please just hear me out." Cherry held up her hands in defence.

Sydney felt the same tick in her brain, the _logical_ part of her brain that was telling her to listen rather than the heartbroken part of her brain that was telling her to lash out. She crossed her arms and nodded, if she wanted to get over this - she needed to know exactly what she was getting over.

"Nothing happened between me and your old man. I came for the prospect." She cleared the air immediately, hoping it would be smooth sailing from there. "I came because of you."

"Because of me." Sydney mimicked her skeptically.

"What you and him have… I want that." Sydney was surprised to hear that. Even if nothing really _had_ happened between them, Tig had still left her. "Look I know something happened between you two so you probably don't believe that, but he's miserable up there. All he cared about was how he was going to get home to you and make things right. That's why your friend brought me back here… He thought I could help make you see that your guy made a mistake leaving you."

"That bastard." Sydney scoffed when she heard that Happy had been incahoots with her and Tig this whole time. Now she understood why he kept pushing for her to talk to Cherry, and why he hadn't been nearly as harsh on her about moving on from Tig as she'd expected him to be; because he'd known the truth all along.

"You're _really_ here for him?" She questioned the shorter girl.

"Yeah." Cherry answered sincerely. "He's the right one."

Sydney bit the inside of her lip and nodded slowly. Regardless of where her feelings about Tig landed, she wanted Half-Sack to be happy and she could tell that this girl was willing to do anything to do just that.

"If I see you flashing that pussy at _anybody_ but him, I will shove my fist so far up that bony ass, your cup size will double. Got it?"

Cherry eyes flicked down to the prominent cleavage busting out of the blonde girl's white tank top. "That how your rack got to be so big?" She nodded with a smile.

Sydney smirked, biting her lip in both amusement and approval. "Go." She nodded towards the compound. "I'll get the others on board with you staying."

Cherry lit up with joy, shaking her head in disbelief. "Are you sure you can do that? Change their minds?"

Sydney leaned down. "It's got a little somethin to do with how my rack got this big." She whispered, winking as she straightened back up.

Just as their conversation concluded and Cherry bounded across the lot in search of Half-Sack, Jax emerged from the office. Sydney raised a brow as he strutted towards her, snorting and shaking her head. _Of course_ they had planned this.

"You guys sort things out?" Jax looked between her and Cherry with a raised eyebrow when he got back in the truck, tucking his wallet into his pocket.

"Yup. Seeing that you 'found your wallet', you can buy me dinner for trying to pull a fast one on me."

"What?" He feigned innocence. "You think I? Nah." He shook his head.

"Diner." She ordered, looking down at her phone screen. Jax chuckled as he began the drive to the diner, parking the wide tow truck in the narrow stall.

"Ugh, I should've known there would be a problem with _you_ driving." Sydney groaned. "Order it to go, I don't need Doreen getting any more ideas than she already has. I want a double bourbon barbeque with extra bacon, cheese fries, diet coke, and a chocolate shake." She gave her list of demands without looking up from her phone, finally ripping her eyes away from the screen when she didn't hear him leave to see him standing in the doorway, stunned. "What? I haven't eaten today."

Jax laughed, heading inside to please the princess. He was glad that the plan with Cherry had worked out and had successfully cancelled half of his guilt from the night prior, hoping he could keep up his winning streak. He ordered food for the both of them, returning to the truck ten minutes later with a large bag and a tray, driving them to a nearby park. He shut off the engine and grabbed the food from the backseat, nodding for Sydney to follow him around the truck where he lowered the tailgate and sat down under the setting sun.

The pair ate mostly in silence, and Sydney was grateful for that. She was hoping that the barely existent mention of the previous night was all she would have to hear of it and they could move on pretending that it didn't happen.

"He was the only one who knew." Sydney looked up from her milkshake with a creased brow when Jax broke the silence. "Half-Sack. I was serious when I said that no one knew anything, it was just him." It'd been clear the night before how embarrassed she was to break down in front of him, and how that embarrassment had carried over, but he wanted her to know that she didn't have to feel that way.

"Okay." She replied awkwardly, looking down into the frothy remnants of her chilled treat.

"You don't gotta be ashamed of it, you know." He shook his head.

"I do…" Sydney decided to try and keep up the honest streak, it's not like anything she said now could be worse than what she'd divulged less than twenty-four hours earlier. "I don't want pity." She shook her head as she twirled the straw around the empty cup. "In this life, it's all that men look at me with. I want to know that the respect I get is respect that I've earned, not respect that's given to me as a consolation prize because they know I'll never get the prize I really want." She spoke wistfully as she stared at the rigid pattern of the tailgate.

Jax nodded as she spoke, truly absorbing every single word, understanding a little more why she was so harsh not only on herself, but on him as well. "I read something, something from my dad." He smiled. "'Letting your guard down is honourable.'" He quoted his late father. "It stuck with me."

"Maybe for a man." She replied softly to the sentimental anecdote, smiling sadly.

Jax drove her home in silence, wishing that he had more to say but he didn't. She'd checkmated him. He'd been completely oblivious to just how similarly different they were until this moment and everything she'd said had made perfect sense. He knew exactly why she felt the way that she did and she had every logical right to those feelings, all he could do was make an effort to show her that it didn't have to be that way.

"Look Syd, last night…" He knew that they needed to talk about it if he was going to prove her wrong.

"Didn't happen?" She finished the sentence for him.

"That's not what I was gonna say." His lips curled up in amusement.

"Oh, well… What were you gonna say?" She spoke innocently before leaning slightly closer to him.

"Uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt his face getting hotter, struggling to remember what the hell he _was_ going to say before getting distracted by her.

"You're too easy." She shook her head with a grin when he blushed under her flirting. "Don't worry Jackson, if I was wearing panties, I wouldn't get them in a bunch over you." She winked, leaning completely across the bench and pressing her lips to his harshly in a deep kiss, lingering to give him the full effect before she finally pulled away.

"That can be the one that you remember." She said by way of an explanation when she saw the pure shock on his face, smirking as she jumped out of the truck and strutted up the pathway to her front door. Kissing him the second time hadn't felt any less wrong than it had the first time, but it helped immensely to know that she'd restored some of her pride.


	45. Talk is Cheap

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 45: TALK IS CHEAP**

"You asshole!" Happy flinched when he heard the angry voice and felt a stinging in his arm, whipping around to see Sydney standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"What?" He scowled, unsure of what he possibly could've done to warrant a smack on the shoulder in the three minutes since he'd arrived back on the compound from the run to Tacoma.

"You let me believe that he slept with that Nevada sweetbutt!"

"I didn't let you believe shit." He smirked, bending back down to the bench of the picnic table outside of the clubhouse where he'd been tying his boot. "I wouldn't have brought her back if she fucked him."

"Well you didn't tell me why you _did_ bring her back." Sydney's eyes widened in what she'd intended to be mock frustration, but hours of Gemma's nagging had given her theatrical annoyance a little more substance than she'd intended.

"I wanted her to tell you."

"I'm still pissed off." Sydney huffed and rolled her eyes. She should've known that this conversation wouldn't go anywhere.

"I know." Happy smirked as he straightened up, nodding toward the door. "I brought something for that."

Tig had _finally_ arrived back in Charming - albeit much later than he'd intended - after the longest five days of his life. He practically ran to his bike after ditching the truck on the side of the road and getting shuttled back to the warehouse by Half-Sack. He pulled on his helmet, smiling as his Dyna roared to life beneath him. He was beyond thrilled to be back on his Harley after almost a full week without it.

He pulled onto the compound, scanning the lot for one of Sydney's vehicles but coming up empty handed. "God dammit." He cursed. His plan had been to return during the work day where he could guarantee some face time with her to try and convince her to speak with him at the very least, but business had wrapped up early on the Friday afternoon and he had underestimated his arrival time.

The previous pep of confidence in Tig's step had been reduced to nervousness after returning to his dorm to see his belongings that had been at Sydney's house were now strewn about his bed. But he didn't let the sore sight completely dampen his spirits, he had been waiting all week to get his girl back and that's what he was going to do.

He parked his bike halfway between Main Street and Sydney's house. He placed his helmet on the seat and shook out his curls that were growing longer than usual, beginning the short walk down the road to her favorite coffee shop. For the purposes of protecting his already shrunken ego, he'd decided that he needed a cover for stopping by her house in case she completely shot him down - figuring that some peace offering donuts would serve as just that. He rounded the corner when he saw it, right outside the cafe: her car. He ducked behind the brick building, coming up with a last minute game plan; scale the side of the building until he could see exactly where she was through the window. Perfect.

It would have been perfect. Perfect if it wasn't for the sight beyond the glass.

Tig's heart sank when he saw Sydney sitting at one of the tables, drinking her favorite iced latte and smiling the way that he used to make her smile, with another man.

"No." He whispered to himself, watching the mystery man's long hair shake as the pair laughed. She looked good; happy and healthy, like she wasn't missing him at all. He felt his heart breaking all over again. This was exactly what he had feared, that she would move on if he stayed gone long enough. He hung his head, swallowing his tears. His demons had been right all along.

Sydney laughed as Donut told her the story of how he'd managed to trick the ever-so-gullible Tank into an arm wrestle a few weeks ago. Revelling in the girlish excitement she felt behind her bellybutton as he brought some familiarity back to her life. Suddenly she felt the genuineness of her smile fading, dragging out her grin for as long as possible so that he wouldn't catch on. She hadn't found herself missing home at all until this moment - even if it was only because it was the first time that she hadn't been in San Bernardino while he was. The guilty pang quickly faded when the genuineness of his smile didn't, his squinted eyes bringing the light right back to hers.

"Look at you, Mr. fucking smiles over there." She grinned in amusement.

"I'm just happy to have girl time again." He teased, flipping his long hair over his shoulder. "One on one with my gal pal, my lady friend." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Sydney laughed, she'd missed her friend. Donut was probably the only man that could treat her with such lightness without offending her, baby her without making her feel like a child, protect her while still believing in her strength.

"I'm still waiting for you to tell me about this reaper that you let into those tight little pants of yours when I've been trying for years." He nodded across the table with a brow raised knowingly.

"Yeah, yeah…" She chuckled. "It's a bit of a sore subject." She rolled her eyes. It's not like she didn't know that this was why Happy had brought the Tacoma man down for a visit, but it was fun to pretend that it was just because he'd wanted to see her. "I cared about him."

"Yeah… Hap mentioned that." The tall man reached across the table, grabbing her hand as he looked into her green eyes. "You okay, kid?" He knew that she wasn't, that's why he was here, but he wasn't going to make her talk about it if she didn't want to. His job was to lift her spirits before Tig came home, and that's what he was going to do.

"I will be." She nodded sincerely, squeezing his large hand in both of hers.

He gave a curt nod, satisfied with her answer for now as he leaned in closer to her and looked around the room as if he was about to tell her some top secret information. "I'll kick his ass if I see him." He whispered. "You just gotta tell me which one he is."

Sydney laughed again. "Why else do you think Hap brought you down here." She scoffed with an evil smirk as she grabbed her empty cup and pushed her chair back.

Happy pulled in front of Maya's house, traversing the small walkway and rapping on the front door impatiently. He hadn't called to let her know that he was coming by, but he'd expected that she would've heard the bike and came to wait for him at the door.

Maya groaned from her bedroom when she heard a knock at her front door, pulling her pillow down over her head and trying to ignore it. Even though she gave it her best shot, whoever was at her door was also giving it theirs. She threw the blankets back, stomping to the door and throwing it open without thinking to give whoever was on the other side a piece of her mind, embarrassment flooding her as soon as she saw that it was Happy.

"Hi." She greeted him in surprise. "What are you doing here?" She didn't mind the unexpected visit - granted, it would've been better appreciated if she had been awake - but she was curious to know what had warranted it.

"Letting you know I got home safe."

"Oh." Maya was even more surprised when not only did he give a straight answer, but a favorable one at that. "Okay. Is that all?" The thoughtful gesture from the seemingly emotionless man had managed to calm her post-waking rage.

"Yeah. You sleeping?" He looked over her disheveled appearance with mild amusement. It had been obvious that she had been, and appeared to have been all day, but why?

"I work later." It wasn't a lie, but she wasn't going to add that a bottle of whiskey and a night of cheesy movies had contributed.

"Oh." He supposed that bartenders had to stay up late for their shifts, which would explain why she was always willing to have him over at such obscure times in the night and was so grumpy in the mornings.

"Will I see you later?" She squinted in the sun.

"Not sure."

"Okay." All Maya could think of was the other night as he began to walk away. She didn't know why it had been eating away at her, maybe it was because she thought it had something to do with why she might _not_ see him tonight. "Hap?" She called after him, deciding to take the leap of faith while he was being cooperative.

Happy turned around, waiting for an explanation.

"What happened the other night?"

"Someone needed help."

"Is she going to need your help tonight?" She broached the subject as subtly as possible.

"Not sure."

"Okay." She looked to the ground."

"She's my family." He clarified, knowing what it was that she was trying to ask.

"Like, your sister?" As far as Maya knew, Happy only had his mom and aunt as relatives.

"No." He ended the conversation, walking to his bike where he pulled on his helmet and drove away. He'd been dreading the inevitable 'what are we' conversation, but Maya had been cool about the status of their relationship until this point. Maybe that was why he didn't mind sharing personal information with her, maybe that was why he didn't mind sharing things with her at all - something he'd never done with any other woman he was sleeping with. She hadn't tried to get him to commit to her and until this point, he hadn't even known that she _wanted_ him to commit to her. Maybe she didn't, but he was glad that he would be spending a few nights at the clubhouse away from her questions about the other women in his life because he'd already shared far more with her than he was comfortable with.

Maya's familiar frustration returned. She'd made some progress with him, but progress meant nothing if he was seeing other women. She huffed, letting the front door slam and stomping down the hallway back to bed before her shift.

Tig returned back in town after a short drive to clear his head that was beginning to cloud after the sore sight. He couldn't let his doubt take over, not yet, not after how hard he'd worked. He parked on a sidestreet, trying to calm his nerves on the short walk to her house, beginning to feel his heartbeat in his throat once he saw her car in the driveway.

He realized that he was taking the gamble of a lifetime as he let his feet carry him up the pathway to her house, running through every single possibility in his head: what if she ignored him, what if she'd taken mystery man home, what if she castrated him the same way that she'd castrated the rapist clown. He had absolutely no idea what had gone on in the fiercely independent woman's head over the last few days. He didn't know if letting him earn his way back into her iron gated heart was even an option for her, but he had to try. He had to show her that he _was_ the man she'd fallen in love with, the one who knew how to keep her when no one else could. He would do anything if it meant that he could call her his again.

Sydney had just finished changing into her pyjamas for the night when she heard the doorbell ring. She padded down the carpeted stairs, tiptoeing to the peephole where she came face to face with Tig. She wasn't surprised to see him, she had been waiting for him to come grovelling at her door ever since she'd talked to Cherry, but she realized as her nerves went haywire that she hadn't prepared for this moment nearly as much as she thought she had.

"Hi." She opened the door, greeting him coldly, crossing her arms across her chest with condescent and leaning against the doorframe so that he wouldn't notice her trembling. She had every intention of hearing him out, but she wasn't going to let him know that. Her ego, her heart, and her reputation had suffered immensely because of him, she intended to have as much fun with this as possible.

"Hi." Tig blinked a few times, caught completely off guard by how caught off guard he was to come face to face with her in the flesh as if she was the last person he would have expected to open the door. "Hi, beautiful." He attempted to compose himself but he couldn't lift it, that trance that she had always managed to slip him under...

She looked him over, noting the cuts and bruises on his face, courtesy of Happy - no doubt. "What are you doing here? I brought your stuff to the clubhouse." Obviously she knew the answer, but she was dying to hear the bullshit answer that he would come up with.

Tig hesitated. He'd come prepared with a backup plan that was even better than the first cover story after mystery douche had thrown out the window, but in the moment he completely forgot his premeditated answer, cowering under her question as he replied with the first thing that came to mind.

"I came to check on you." He grimaced harshly as soon as he realized what had left his mouth.

If Sydney didn't find him stumbling over his words so amusing, that one probably would have pissed her off. "Yes, well, you know how much I _love_ protection. But from the looks of it, you're the one who needs checking up on." She scoffed, scanning over his battered face again which she unfortunately found extremely hot. "Is that all?"

"How was your date?" He looked to the ground as he kicked a rock around with the toe of his boot.

Her brow began to crease in confusion before she realized that he must've seen her at the coffee shop with Donut earlier, the Sergeant not recognizing his Tacoma brother with his long hair and missing kutte. "You really did pick up a few things from me, huh?" She smirked. If he wanted to think that the worst thing she'd done while he was gone was go on a date, that was fine by her.

"A guy like that can't handle you." He pursed his lips and shook his head. Something about her smugness kick-started his ego which took the reins as she challenged him with that cocky little smile.

"Apparently you can't either." She cocked a brow.

"I was wrong."

"You proved the opposite." She smiled sarcastically and went to close the door.

"Nah." Tig stuck his foot in the door, leveraging it open as he leant against the doorframe. "Nah, I let you walk away before, I'm not letting you walk away again."

Sydney's eyes trailed to his ring clad hand that was holding the door open, the sight mixing with the dominance he was exercising lit that familiar fire in her core. "You left." She reminded him after ripping her eyes away in an attempt to break the familiar trance that she was beginning to slip under as well.

"Well now I'm back." Tig knew he was on the right track when she didn't stop him even though she could've, seeing the angle he would work when he caught her staring and then getting flustered.

"You think it works that way?" She scoffed at his easy reply.

"No." He spoke sincerely as he shook his head and looked to the ground, moving his hands to his hips. "No, I don't." He looked back up and into her eyes. "I fucked up." He took a step towards her inside the house, then another, then another, gradually shrinking the gap between them. "Give me another chance."

"If you think I'm going to fall for your begging just because Happy talked you into it, then you clearly don't know me at all." She snarled with her head tilted up towards his, trying desperately to cover her burning desire with anger as he got close enough that she could smell him - that smell that she loved so much, the one that could make her feel at home no matter where she was.

"I aint gonna beg." Tig shook his head with his lip turned up as he got closer, not daring to touch her yet. "But I am gonna remind you that he can't take care of you like I do. Can't make you feel what I do, can't fuck you like I do." Sydney felt her nerves spark when the words left his lips, looking up into his lusty blue eyes with a fire in hers. She didn't say anything, waiting to see what his next move would be.

Tig knew he'd hit a home run when she looked up at him with those gorgeous, passion filled eyes - now he hoped that he could cover all of the bases. He brought his hand to hers, tracing up her silky skin with the featherlight touch of his fingertips, bringing his hand back down her arm until it grazed her thigh.

"Tell me to stop." He whispered shakily as he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, gathering the black silk of her short nightgown in his hand, praying that she wouldn't take the out he was giving her.

Sydney knew exactly what he was doing as he exaggerated the movements with his hands, knowing how much she loved them. It was a cheap move; praying on an easy weakness, but it was one that she made no effort to stop. It may have been a cheap move, but it was a smart move; a move that she respected, a move that confirmed he was playing her game - and she was going to win.

Tig opened his eyes to see her staring up at him with hardened, daring eyes that were a darker shade of green than he'd ever seen before. He continued his slow movements as he slid the dress up her body, keeping the anticipation high and the touches light in hopes that the building need for release would keep her from possibly changing her mind. He felt his heart stop after pulling the garment off over her head to reveal her completely naked body, a sight that he'd thought he may never be lucky enough to see again. He took his time admiring the tanned skin that inhabited every ounce of his consciousness, his eyes falling to her delicate collarbones which looked even more naked without her necklace; the necklace that was sitting in the pocket of his kutte - the backup reason as to why he had stopped by.

He snaked an arm around her waist, his opposite hand caressing the smooth skin across her chest, sending shivers through both of them as he made his way to the back of her neck. His eyes almost rolled back when he heard her moan; a sound that he'd played over and over in his mind and was now finally hearing for real. She rolled her head back and curled her arms around his biceps to hold him in place while she pressed herself against him and parted her lips.

Tig felt his eyes closing like a dimmer switch as he got closer and closer to her lips, waiting for the feeling he'd been longing for; the feeling that made him feel alive, loved, and wanted. The feeling that would make all of his suffering and fighting worth it.

"Stop." His eyes flew open, halting with his lips a mere hair away from hers. "Get out." She spoke into his mouth with an evil tongue and a cocky grin, pushing off of him and turning around, bending to pick up her nightgown, looking over her shoulder at him smugly as she walked towards the kitchen.

Tig's blood ran cold. She had been playing with him all along.

Sydney let her taunting gaze linger on him for a while, enjoying the shock on his face until she got far enough down the hall that she couldn't see him anymore. Her lips started to curl up in a smirk but cocky stride was stopped by a hand gripping the back of her neck tightly and spinning her around.

"You fucking tease." Tig growled as he held her face close to his, walking her backwards until her back hit the marble countertop of the kitchen island.

"I've been a tease since the day you met me!" She bit back. "Thinking otherwise is what got you into this." Tig ground his teeth in frustration;. frustration that once again, she had managed to one-up him and leave him humiliated.

"I have enough men that don't know how to give me what I want." She spoke through gritted teeth. "You say you're the only one who can handle me? Then fucking handle me." Her tone wasn't any less venomous than his had been as she snarled at him, reminding him exactly who he was dealing with because lately he seemed to have forgotten.

Tig was acting purely on animalistic instinct now that she'd given him the green light, spinning her around and shoving her down against the countertop as he yanked his belt open.

Sydney felt the cool leather slapping against the backs of her thighs which was a direct contrast to the fire that was burning just above them. She pressed her face against the cold marble of the island, soothing the heat on her cheeks as he kicked her feet apart wider, spreading her before him obscenely. He smacked her ass before spitting onto his hand, pumping his dick a few times before he finally pushed inside of her.

"Fuck..." He groaned shakily. Every bad thought melted away instantly at the feeling of her gripping down on him, and the sound of her moan dissolved the puddle. This was how it was supposed to be: them, together.

Sydney curled her toes and flexed her calves when she was hit by the intense pleasure wave that only him deep inside of her could cause. She'd been too preoccupied trying to ignore her feelings that she hadn't even thought about how much she would've missed this part of being with him; the way that he knew exactly how to please her. Now she didn't have to think about it, and she hoped she would never have to.

As much as Tig wanted to thoroughly enjoy the moment, he couldn't help but notice how much more successful he'd been with her as soon as he stopped trying to act the way that he thought she would've wanted him to act, and just acted. He realized that this was what she had been telling him all along, what everyone had been telling him all along; to stop trying to give her what he thought she deserved and just give her what she wanted: him. All of him. Everything that he was, had been, and could be. He'd never been able to believe that someone could want that until now, and now that he knew, he wouldn't doubt it ever again.

Now that he knew he needed to speak her language, Tig worried that the depth of his feelings would get lost in translation. He needed her to know that this was more than just sex to him, and if he was going to do that, he needed to challenge her the way that she challenged him - show her that he _could_ handle her, and the only way to do that was with plain english.

Sydney's moaning on the verge of an earth shattering orgasm was cut short when she felt him pull out. The hazy sex high she'd been riding crashed and her passionate arousal was replaced by raging anger. She couldn't believe he was doing this to her again, now, after everything. "You're fucking kidding m-" She swung her arm back as she straightened up, but the blow was stopped by his hand on her wrist and his other on her throat, restricting her windpipe.

Tig let up on his grip after a few seconds, letting her breathe but still holding her in place securely. She was going to listen whether she wanted to or not. "Now I never stopped wanting you, ever. I've wanted you ever since I met you, everyday, for the rest of my life. I got scared that you'd stop wanting me and I left, like a pussy."

Surprisingly, it wasn't the way that he'd deflected her outburst, his hand on her throat, or his lips against her temple that sent the shiver rolling through her body; it was his husky voice and baited breath, full of purpose and authority as he took full ownership for his wrongdoings.

Tig chuckled evilly when he felt her shiver beneath his hands, knowing that even if the vulnerable admittance hadn't worked, the delivery had. "See baby… I told you. You can lie to me, your body can't."

Sydney shoved him off of her and spun around angrily to face him, her frustration returning. "You think insulting me, pissing me off, _and_ fucking me around is going to make me take you back?" She huffed over the action that usually would've turned her on - or at the very least would've provoked submission - but she still wasn't over the resentment she had towards him for humiliating her.

"That's why you fell in love with me, aint it?" He smirked bashfully.

Sydney felt her lips curled up. _This_ was the man she'd fallen in love with. The man who said the wrong thing at the wrong time with every drop of confidence. The man who was unapologetically himself and didn't question it no matter how many other people did.

"Yeah… Maybe it is." She bit her lip to contain her smile as she nodded slowly.

Tig finally felt relief. Pure, proper, relief - not the hope he'd been clinging to. "Give me another chance." He brought his hands to her face, speaking softly as he rested his forehead against hers.

"You finish what you started here and maybe we can talk about it." She nodded up the stairs with a smirk.

"Thought we agreed to meet alone?" Darby lifted a pistachio from the pile on the picnic table while looking past Marcus Alvarez.

"My son Esai." He looked back at the young man standing by their bikes. "I don't travel far from home without family."

"Well hombre, I bet you've got a lot of family." Darby scoffed.

"What do you want?" The Mayans President grew impatient quickly with the disrespectful man.

"Where're you at with the Sons?"

"Same place I was at the last time we talked."

"Now I understand why you're losing your turf." He taunted the dark haired man as he cracked another pistachio open.

"You make me drive forty minutes just to shit talk me, asshole?"

"Nah. Just thought you'd be striking while the iron's hot."

"Ain't hot enough to start a war on some bullshit intel."

"Aint bullshit." Darby held up the manilla envelope. "Guess your little A.T.F. informant thought you needed an extra push to get the job done."

Alvarez glanced at the envelope, intrigued but still not sitting down with the man at the table - he wasn't going to give his time or full attention if he didn't know it was worth it. If he couldn't trust the intel he'd received from the supposed same A.T.F. agent, he sure as hell couldn't trust intel he was receiving from Darby.

"How would you like to take over SAMCRO's gun business? Niners can't buy guns, they can't protect their heroin. Mayans win out on two fronts - horse trade and gun running." Darby smirked smugly.

"Irish gun supplier." He laid the photo evidence on the table when he noticed Alvarez's hesitation. "I also know when, and how the guns are comin in. Everything you need to intercept and renegotiate the distribution agreement. So what do you say? _Friend."_

"What do you want?" Alvarez shook his head, he knew that the slimy man wasn't giving him this information for free.

"Same thing I always wanted… Charming." Darby spit a shell onto the ground. "You kill Clay Morrow, and while the chicken's running around without a head, you hit the rest. Wipe out SAMCRO."

"That's it? A simple little masacre?" He finally seated himself at the table. "You sucking your own pipe, gray boy?"

"Charming PD and the feds have hit a wall with these bastards. They sent me this file for a reason, the same way they sent you that tip about your little heroin house that they blew to the ground. Now do you really think they're gonna give a shit about some outlaw bloodbath? Nah. They'll count the bodies, count their blessings, and close the case."

"You sure they aren't just baiting you into a crime so they can close that case a little faster?" Alvarez explained his logic for not only his hesitation now, but for holding back on retaliation earlier.

"Alright." Darby ripped the papers from the table, getting up and walking away when his so-called 'partner' showed no faith in him.

Despite his doubt over the motives of the fed, the Mayan knew that Darby had a point, but he didn't know if having to work with the Nords would be any better than having to deal with the Sons. Unless...

"Hey, hold it."

Esai Alvarez watched his father stop the Nord after he'd tried to walk away, exchanging a few more words before sharing a nod. He made his way over when Darby started walking back to his truck, passing the balding man as he spit a nutshell onto his shoe.

"What'd he want?" He shook his head in disbelief as he approached his father.

"Gotta put down a couple of dogs that are making my life miserable."

Esai looked back at Darby. "Let me and my boys do it." His eyes lingered on the black Suburban SUV and the white trash that got into it.

"You think you can handle that weight?"

"Just tell me who." He nodded, hoping to impress his father and finally live up to his expectations.

"SAMCRO boss." The older man followed his son's gaze. "And that greedy cracker shithead."

* * *

**MR. TRAGER HAS REJOINED THE PARTY. How do we feel about Tiggy being back?! Did we miss him? Or did we kind of like solo Syd? I'm more conflicted than I feel like I should be :/**

**A special thank you to Lindsay for character assistance (Donut) and Luka (RedwoodWriter) for lending of original characters (Maya) ❤️**

_**Songs for this chapter:**_

_**Inside Out - Britney Spears**_

_**Feel It - Michele Morrone**_


	46. Letting Go

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 46: LETTING GO**

Tig didn't sleep that night. Even after hours of making love and holding her in his arms, he still hadn't been able to accept that he had pulled this off, which made him realize just how little confidence he'd actually had that he would get her back. His mind wandered to the man he'd seen her with yesterday as the first light of morning began to trickle through the blinds, wondering how much of a problem the long haired asshole would cause now that they were back together. He shook his head,looking over at her sleeping soundly next to him, he wasn't going to allow the negativity to seep in that easily.

Sydney felt herself being coaxed awake from her peaceful slumber by a light tickling by her ear. She smiled at the familiar feeling of Tig's rough facial hair on her soft skin, pressing herself against his touch.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear, hovering over where she laid on her stomach, kissing her cheek, then her shoulder.

"You keep saying that." She chucked with her eyes still closed, feeling his butterfly kisses making their way up the side of her bruised neck.

He slid his arms under her stomach, rolling her gently onto her back. "I mean it." He spoke softly with his lips against her neck before kissing her jaw.

"I know you do, baby." She wove her fingers through his hair as his mouth began descending her body.

"I am going to spend the rest-" His lips wrapped around her hardened nipple, sending goosebumps breaking out across her chest. "-of my life making up for it." He kissed the other one lightly.

"You know you don't have to do that." She giggled as he sucked on her belly ring, gasping lightly when his lips continued trailing down her stomach. "But if this is how you wanna do it…"

Sydney laid wrapped tightly in Tig's arms after a lazy morning of cuddling and make up sex, and she wouldn't have had it any other way. Although she hadn't wanted to acknowledge it over the last week; she'd missed him - how she felt with him, how he felt next to her. She snaked her hand up his chest to his face, stroking the grown out stubble on his jaw while she kept her face buried in the warmth of his chest.

"I know I need to shave." He chuckled, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.

She hummed and shook her head, tilting up to look at him. "I like it." She bit her lip, running her thumb over his moustache. "It's sexy." He raised a brow and smiled bashfully, doubtful that his wild curls and unkempt facial hair after almost a week away from home could really be that attractive to her.

Sydney grinned when he didn't believe her, tapping her index finger over his lips before pulling him down into a passionate kiss. She sighed as she held him to her lips, soaking up the comfort of the familiar position. "I love you." She whispered, kissing him tenderly once again.

Tig felt every single one of his nerve endings fry when he heard those three little words coming from the pouty lips that were pressed against his. He'd heard it in his head hundreds of times over the past week - thinking it would be the only place he would ever hear it again, until now.

"I love you too, angel."

After untangling themselves from the sheets, Sydney and Tig finally began to get ready for church. Tig stood from the bed first, looking down at Sydney as she smiled up at him. His forehead began to crease - something about the heavenly scene before him was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it until his eyes started trailing down her chest.

Sydney knit her brows when he scowled and then dove to the ground for his kutte, digging through his pockets. "It's a little late for a condom." She joked with a raised brow.

Tig chuckled, shaking his head as he opened his fist to reveal her necklace sitting in the palm of his hand. "I found it… In my room. After the job." He tried to explain his logic in hopes that she wouldn't be upset with him for taking what he knew to be her most prized possession. "I brought it with me for…"

"Good luck?" She surmised with a smile when he struggled to find the right words, plucking the gold chain from his calloused palm.

"Yeah… Good luck." He smiled and nodded. His answer was going to be 'safe keeping', but he supposed that good luck was the best explanation for whatever force had subconsciously driven him to take it - and it had worked.

Sydney stared at the gold heart as she turned it in her fingers - a feeling that used to bring her comfort but now felt foreign. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, squeezing the cold metal in her hand before looking back up at Tig, reaching for his hand and pulling him to sit next to her. She stood and slid the pendant off of the chain before straddling his lap, avoiding his questioning eyes as she hooked her pinky into the silver chain he wore around his neck and fastened the golden heart behind the spiral charm.

"For good luck." She pressed her hand against his chest with a small smile.

"Syd… I can't-" He shook his head, stopping when she pressed his finger to his lips.

"You can." She nodded, kissing him sweetly. She wasn't quite sure what'd made it so easy to part with the sentimental piece of jewelry. Maybe it was the fact that she had gotten through the storm without it, maybe it was because she wanted to show him that he didn't have to be guilty, or maybe it was just him.

"My sugar mama." He mused against her lips with a smile. Any thought of the other man had now washed away.

Sydney sat nervously in her car after parking in her usual spot at TM. She took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel after cutting the engine to try and stop her hands from shaking. It wasn't that she wasn't thrilled to be back with Tig, it was that she wasn't thrilled to have to deal with the questions that would accompany their reunion. She had no idea how everybody was going to react, including Jax - wondering what this would mean for their previously unspoken tryst.

"You comin, babe?" She was startled by Tig standing at her open window with a smile.

"Yeah." She forced a smile in return.

"So, how much of a beating should I expect?" He asked with a knowing smirk as they walked across the lot hand in hand.

Sydney laughed, feeling better about the awkward situation - thanks to him. "On top of what you got from Hap? Two more maybe… Not as substantial - I'd say one hit per round." She shrugged theatrically.

"Okay." He sighed dramatically. "Let's get this over with." He nodded to the door with a smile, keeping the situation light as he could tell it was weighing on her.

As soon as they entered the clubhouse, Sydney was met with Gemma's infamously discerning smirk and an approving nod from behind the bar. She chortled, rolling her eyes at the older woman across the room before she felt herself being hauled into a large pair of arms that spun her around in a hug.

"You didn't come to party with me last night, Princess." Donut's deep voice rumbled.

"I'll be here tonight." She laughed into his dark hair.

The first reaction Tig had to Sydney being ripped away from him was fight or flight - heavy on the fight - perhaps a little PTSD from his vivid dreams, but the instinct to pull her back quickly faded when he saw the Tacoma patches under the reaper on the back of the man's kutte. His short lived relief however was quickly replaced by recognition when he saw the long, wavy hair. The wavy hair from the mystery asshole that he'd seen Sydney with at the coffee shop.

Tig looked at Sydney with a scowl once her feet were back on the ground, catching that cocky little smile as she kept her arms wrapped tightly around the Road Captain's neck. She'd never been on a date at all, she'd been catching up with her old friend, Donut.

"One, for good measure. I don't want a scene." Sydney whispered into the tall man's ear as he side-eyed Tig with a raised brow, answering his silent question.

"Hey man, didn't know you were comin down." Tig extended his arm once Donut separated from Sydney, being knocked to the ground immediately by the northerner's elbow.

"Jesus." He shook his head, regaining his bearings as blood began to gush from his nose. "Okay… I deserved that." He nodded.

"Hell yeah you did." Donut chuckled heartily before offering his hand to the Sergeant, pulling him up into a hug. Tig looked around the room as he indulged the larger man, glad to see that Donut was the only visitor from Tacoma. He would've happily taken cheap shots for the rest of the day if it meant that Kozik would stay where he belonged.

Sydney watched the squabble with a small smile of amusement, as did the onlookers around the clubhouse. She was pleasantly surprised with how everyone so far had managed to mind their business by acknowledging her and Tig with a raised brow or a small nod and nothing more - nothing like the way that the guys back home would hassle her for every detail of her personal life. However, she had a feeling that the bliss of ignorance would be short lived as she finally made her way over to Gemma.

"I knew that would all work out." The matriarch smirked. It was in her nature to be smug when she was right about something, but she was genuinely happy to see that one of her oldest friends and her newest partner in crime were back where they belonged: together.

"And how do you know it's worked out?" Sydney couldn't help a little playful smugness of her own, glad that her worry had been dulled before having to speak with the queen.

"Because there is not another man in this town that has the balls to claim you." She nodded to the fresh hickies on Sydney's neck, a familiar sight that she never thought she would've missed seeing. All the younger girl could do was smile and bite her lip in confirmation, knowing that Gemma would surely get her to spill the details during their next office shift together.

"Alright, there's a lot that's gone down over the last few days." Clay spoke to a full table - Opie and Piney included. He needed everybody here for what he was about to run through. "First up, we need to get somewhere on this shit with Indian Hills." He looked to Tig.

"They think somethin's up man." Tig had been sure of it ever since the Nevada President returned from Vegas. "Even after sticking around, they think it's just a cover."

"Do they know anything about what we did for Trammel?"

"Nah. But if it comes out, they're gonna wonder why we didn't tell them."

Jax stole a glance at Tig as he reported his suspicions, getting an idea or two of what Happy had meant when he said that anyone who hurt Sydney would get worse. The Tacoma Killer seemed to be okay with the fact that the couple had reconciled, so Jax hoped that meant that the suspicions would diminish with the issue itself.

"We need to find out who the hell is behind this!" Piney slammed his hand on the table.

"We need to do damage control." Sydney chimed in. She hadn't met any of the members of the newest charter, nor had she paid all that much attention over the last week as to what they might have been thinking. She had been focused on _why_ they'd even had to think anything in the first place, but that was between her and Jax, and she intended to keep it that way until they could come up with an answer.

"Jax?" She volunteered the VP, knowing it would be an easy sell because of his closeness with Jury and the fact that he'd felt wrong selling them guns in the first place.

"We can't afford to be risking anymore money or manpower right now. Indian Hills' gotten more than enough good faith from us." Clay shot down the idea, growing impatient with the charter that hadn't yet come into their own.

"Jury's not gonna buy-"

"We need to think about how they're seeing this; how it will affect us in the future." Sydney cut Jax off before he could jump right back into the hole he'd dug with Clay. "Right now all they know is that we sprung guns on them in the name of protection - they're hesitant, then suddenly they're being given all kinds of reasons to be needing said protection. It doesn't look good on us. They see our 'good faith' as covering our own asses. We need to send somebody up there who they trust, with some answers - bullshit or not."

"Yeah… Princess' got a point." Bobby groaned.

"Aye." Chibs agreed.

Donut's hazel coloured eyes sparkled as he watched Sydney take charge, captivating the attention of every man in the room by her words and not her looks. He'd always known that she was a force to be reckoned with, but he never thought that an entire charter would be able to look past their misogyny to see that - let alone the founding charter. He was bursting with pride to see her doing what he knew she was born to do.

"Next week." Clay agreed reluctantly. "After we figure out this gun shit."

"What gun shit?" Jax scowled. Even though Kohn was gone and the feds seemed to have backed off, he was still on high alert for anything that could get him or his club incriminated.

"Cameron called." Clay lowered his head, delivering the possibly threatening news - as if they needed any more of that. "He wants to meet Sunday evening at Devon's."

"I thought we were meeting McKeevy at the ports for the drop?" Chibs' brows knit.

"Guess something came up."

"Any more delayed shipments and we lose Laroy." Sydney warned, her worry doubling because the Niners leader was likely already unhappy with her for skipping out on the last drop - which had been the entire grounds of their deal in the first place.

"Well I guess you'll take care of that since you offered to be our broker. Do some of that damage control you're so eager about." The white haired man grinned sarcastically around his unlit cigar.

Tig used his better judgment and kept his mouth shut about Sydney meeting with Laroy; remembering what it was that he needed to practice if he wanted this relationship to work - and if he wanted to keep his coveted Sergeant's patch.

"Aight well I gotta get going." Jax stood - doing some damage control of his own. "Kid gets outta the toaster today." He explained with a grin.

"You get to hold your son?" Tig smiled as light cheering spread over the previously dreary room.

Clay smiled genuinely, happy for his stepson but also grateful for his VP bringing some much needed good news to the club. "At least we know one good thing's gonna happen today, huh?" He bumped the fist of the blonde man as he accepted a round of high-fives from his brothers.

"Woah woah woah, where you goin kitty cat?" Sydney smiled as she turned around to see Donut towering over her with his hands on his hips.

"Didn't you hear? I have _business_ to tend to." She mused before continuing her walk across the lot to her car. Even though she was unhappy with the circumstances of the task, she was still excited to share it with her old friend who knew how big of a deal it was for her to have been given a task at all.

"Charming boys let you go alone?"

"Yeah. Unlike _some _people, they actually trust that I can handle myself." Her tone was light and playful.

"They're smart here." He smirked. "Mind if I ride along? You know… Get some pointers from the Cali Queen herself." He spoke with mock-nonchalance.

"I guess." She rolled her eyes with a smile. She knew he was being protective - but she wasn't going to pass up precious time with him. She led him to her car, signalling for him to be quiet while she flipped her burner open.

"Hi Teej." She spoke down the line once the voice of the Niner came through. "Wanna put your boss on the phone for me?"

"Who the hell is this?"

"You need me to talk dirty?"

"Oh..." The man on the other end of the phone smirked, changing his tone once he realized who he was speaking to. "Hey blondie. You know… He's gonna be a minute, you mind talkin to me while you wait?" He flirted.

"Only if _you_ talk dirty." She rasped with a smirk, trying not to laugh as she heard the Niners leader cussing out his henchman for fucking around on the business phone, taking matters into his own hands.

"Yeah?"

"Hi Mr. Wayne. Care to meet a girl for a drink?"

"Don't know. You gonna send some bitch boy in your place?"

Sydney rolled her eyes when she heard exactly what she'd been hoping to avoid. "Cesar Chavez. One hour." She snapped the phone shut.

"So, you think I hit him hard enough?" Donut finally felt like it was acceptable to bring up Tig after over half an hour of laughs and good conversation on the drive to Oakland, looking over at her with a tentative smirk.

"He might need another one." She met his eyes with a knowing smirk of her own.

"He fix things?" She nodded silently, still not feeling completely comfortable over the situation. "Good. I just hope he came grovelling at your feet with the apology that my princess deserved."

"Close enough." She laughed, he _came_ alright... "So, no lecture about how he's an asshole, or how he's got the clap, or how shocking it is that I went for him?"

"Nah." Donut shook his head. "I'll always think you're too good for everyone but me." He winked. "But I know exactly why you went for him and I gotta say, he's a good second choice." She laughed at his jokes, glad that she could talk about her relationship in a way that was so lighthearted. "Gotta admit though... I always thought you and Hap were gonna hook up one day."

"Try telling him that." She scoffed. "You know he has a girlfriend now?

"What?" His long hair shook as he laughed in disbelief. "No way."

"Yup." She nodded smugly. "Not that he tells me anything about her." She rolled her eyes.

"That poor girl… He's still pulling sweetbutts left and right." Sydney chuckled but felt it fading when she was reminded of not only what she'd done, but of the possibility of what Tig might do in the future.

Sydney was glad to arrive at their destination not long after her insecurities joined the party, leaving Donut standing by the car as she sauntered towards the park bench that Laroy was waiting at.

"Hi Mr. Wayne." She greeted with her hand on his shoulder as she rounded the bench, taking a seat next to him and leaning over to wave at Teej who was standing across the field by their black Escalade.

Laroy looked with frustration between her and his right-hand who was grinning at her like a schoolboy as he returned her wave. "I'm not smilin." The gang leader didn't appreciate her ignorance.

"Well I'm here to change that."

"Just like you were supposed to be at the last drop?"

"You didn't seem to have too much of a problem with it." She shrugged.

"This was not our deal, _Cali Queen._" He mocked with his finger in her face, hoping to wipe that smug little smile off of it.

Sydney's lips flattened into a straight line, not daring to flinch as he wagged his digit before her eyes. She glanced down at his hand, then back up to his eyes. "You got your guns, at a discount, and you didn't have to deal with Clay." She reminded him as he stared at her with his dark eyes, saying nothing.

"So why did you want to meet?" He spoke finally when it was clear that she wasn't going to.

"We might have another delay." Sydney dropped her facade to deliver the news.

"You're joking, right?" Laroy laughed.

She shook her head, inhaling sharply. "Feds are on us, we needed a cover. It was about protecting both parties - which is what this potential delay is about; _protection._ I'll make sure you get a generous 'customer appreciation' price if it ends up being late."

"Little white boys gonna let you squander away their cash to a black man?" He raised a brow.

"'Little white boys' are gonna do whatever I ask them to do, the same way that you're going to wait patiently for your guns while I get this taken care of." She snarked, ending the conversation.

Donut smirked as Sydney made her way back. "Damage control?" He asked as he leant against the car with his arms crossed.

"Damage control…" She spoke hopefully, as she watched them drive away, squealing in surprise when Donut leant down swiftly and lifted her over his shoulder, spinning around before pulling her down into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you." He whispered into her hair, feeling her squeeze him a little tighter.

There weren't a lot of phrases in the english language that could truly touch Sydney, but hearing someone say that they were proud of her was one of them. Especially when that someone had been with her from the beginning and had seen her at her worst.

"We doin this boss?" Teej looked to Laroy with uncertainty.

"Nah, we get our cheap guns first."

Sydney returned with Donut, happy to see that even though the atmosphere in church had been bleak, the atmosphere around the clubhouse was lively as everyone gathered to celebrate Abel's progress with Jax. It was only midday, but crowds littered the compound with beers in hand. Tig sat at a picnic table with Bobby, Clay, Jax and Gemma, and Half-Sack sat by the ring with Cherry in his lap, talking to Chibs and Juice.

"Hey." Tig stood from his seat when he noticed Sydney and Donut approaching, walking over and putting his arm around her waist as he kissed her on the cheek, nodding formally to the Tacoma man.

"You want a drink?" Sydney smiled, once again feeling any bit of discomfort wash away as soon as Tig was with her. She could tell that he was on his best behaviour, trying to prove that he was worthy to not only her, but to his brothers as well.

"Yeah, just hold on, I'll come with you." She spoke softly as she ran her hand over his stomach, looking to Clay who was waiting for her report on Laroy with his arm around Gemma.

"How'd it go?" Jax nodded.

"Guess we'll see… Might cost us another discount." She grimaced, still unhappy with the situation she was put in - having to plead with the cocky man because they'd lost the upper hand.

"Eh, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Clay shrugged. Laroy was informed and that was all that he cared to worry about. "Today, we celebrate." He held up his beer.

"When does Abel get out?" Sydney asked Jax.

"Later this afternoon." He grinned. He was beyond excited to hold his son for the first time, but he would be lying if he said that a small part of that excitement didn't have to do with the fact that he would be seeing Tara. He didn't know why he wanted to see her after what she'd done - maybe it was just the nerves, but deep down, part of him longed for the familiar comfort and purity that she brought to his often dark and grim life.

Sydney smiled before letting Tig lead her into the clubhouse, clutching his hand tightly. "What do you want?" He asked once they reached the bar which was relatively empty since everybody had gathered outside for the hot day.

"You." She looked up at him with those glossy eyes. She was feeling abnormally clingy, wanting nothing more than to curl up in his arms for the rest of the day rather than joining the party - something she was not used to at all. Maybe it was all of the ignored feelings catching up to her, maybe she was just feeling sentimental having Donut around, maybe it was the need for the comfort of something familiar after the unfamiliar exhaustion of transparency, but maybe it was the fact that the last time she drank, she'd broken down over him and perpetually embarrassed herself - needing a stark reminder that she was no longer in that position.

"You okay?" He brought his hand to her face, tilting her chin up so that she couldn't look away when he asked.

She nodded. "I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her nose into his chest.

Tig's heart swelled so big, he actually worried that it might explode. "I love you too, baby." He lifted her, hugging her tightly as her legs wrapped around his waist, capturing her waiting lips in a kiss.

"We can go do something else if you want… Just me and you." He whispered into her hair. He'd been on high alert, wanting to show her that he was capable of tending to her every need without question - which had tipped him off to the fact that she wasn't feeling as comfortable around everyone as she usually was.

"No it's okay." She shook her head, trying to tolerate the vulnerability and instead of fighting it off. "Donut would kill me if I skipped out on a party two nights in a row." She chucked. "I'm gonna go home and change." She glanced down at her casual outfit of black denim shorts, white tank top, and white converse.

"Okay, you want me to come?"

"Nah, it's okay. I need to talk to Hap… Try and save whatever's left of your face." She joked, looking over his battered complexion.

"Okay." He nodded with a small chuckle, kissing her temple.

"Are we staying here tonight?"

He smiled when she said 'we'. "Yeah that's what I was thinking… We can drink and then get ready here tomorrow, if you wanted to bring some of your stuff back…" He tried to broach the subject as subtly as possible, not wanting to move too fast if she wasn't ready to put all of her trust back into him yet. He didn't mind if she wasn't - he'd meant what he said about proving for the rest of his life that she was what he wanted.

"Okay." She smiled, kissing him again.

Happy rode in the passenger seat of Sydney's car on the way back to her house, unsure why she wanted him to join her in choosing an outfit for tonight, but he didn't ask. It's not like he had anything better to do.

"Thought you'd wanna bring Donut." He commented as they turned onto her street.

"I already drove with Donut today."

He grumbled in response to the unrevealing answer, scowling when she looked over at him with a vexing smile after giving him a taste of his own medicine with the blunt statement that did nothing to move the conversation along. He followed her out of the car and into her house silently, sitting on the foot of her bed once they reached her room.

"This is the first time I've been here." He looked around the room, noting some familiar trinkets and pieces of furniture from the house she'd shared with her dad in San Bernardino.

"Well you never ask to come over." She rolled her eyes before disappearing into the closet.

"You work shit out with Tig?" He changed the subject.

"I did." She confirmed as she wiggled the silky, olive green skirt up her legs, getting no response. "I thought that's what you wanted?" She stood in the doorway with a scowl as she pulled a satin black shirt over her head.

"It is."

"Well you don't sound too happy about it." She scoffed, pulling on her black, heeled combat boots.

"He hurt you. That doesn't make me happy."

"Well make up your fuckin mind." She joked, walking over to her vanity to spruce up her makeup now that she was dressed.

"It's important to me that he respects you." The comment reminded Sydney of her minor insecurity moment earlier, the one that now she couldn't stop thinking about...

"Me dirias?" She turned to face him. Somewhere between the decision to take Tig back and the effort she was putting into transparency, the question slipped past her lips before she could catch it.

Happy's brow creased, wondering what she was talking about before he recognized the sincerity and rarely seen vulnerability behind her eyes, realizing right away.

"I don't rat on my brothers."

"Do you lie to your brothers?"

"You aint a brother."

"When I am." She rolled her eyes.

"It'll be different." Happy shook his head and looked away, not knowing what else to say because it was clear that she'd come up with a counter for every excuse he could make.

"So that's a no then."

"I aint a rat." He shook his head. "But I aint gonna let him disrespect you either."

"What about the run clause?" Sydney forced herself to think only about the task at hand, and not at how easy it had been to get him to crack - needing to keep the smirk off of her face if she wanted a real answer.

"I aint the one in a relationship. Run clause don't mean shit to me."

"Damn." She scoffed. "I feel sorry for that girlfriend of yours." She tried to hide her smirk as she turned back around to face the mirror.

"We aint together." He huffed, stomping downstairs to wait for her.

Tig tidied his room while he waited for Sydney to get back. It stung to see the empty drawers of his dresser where her stuff had once been, but he just kept telling himself that it meant nothing because she was coming back.

_But what if she isn't coming back?_

He shook his head, trying to shake the hateful voice inside his head away. He sat back onto his bed, leaning over and digging in his nightstand for the other half of the photostrip from the fair. He placed them along his mirror with his other photos, trying to make himself feel better with the photo evidence that she loved him, but it wasn't enough.

"No, no, no." He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "Dammit." He slammed his fist down against the dresser, slowly raising his eyes back up to the picture as he gathered his strength in another attempt.

That was when he saw it; the flash of the camera reflecting off of Sydney's necklace in the picture; the necklace that meant so much to her, the necklace that she gave to him. He took a deep breath, folding his hand over the charm around his neck, listening to the nasty voices fade. She was coming back.

* * *

**Fluffy lil chapter to ease our tortured hearts :/**


	47. Luck of The Irish

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 47: LUCK OF THE IRISH**

"You wanna go to bed, baby?" Sydney lifted her head from Tig's shoulder when she heard the whisper of his smokey voice in her ear. She looked around the room lazily, seeing that the party had died down significantly, and much earlier than usual - likely due to the early hour that the drinking had begun.

She nodded, running her fingers over his hand which was resting comfortably on her thigh. Once the alcohol had taken over, her emotional clinginess had morphed into a physical one - spending the evening on Tig's lap or tucked under his arm. Thanks to the negative experiences that they'd both had with hard liquor in the past days, they stuck to beer - pacing themselves enough to comfortably feel the effects without becoming completely inebriated.

The pair stumbled down the hallway clumsily, taking turns tripping over each other as they giggled drunkenly. Tig fumbled with the door, finally getting it open and stepping aside for Sydney to enter first. She crossed the threshold, spinning around with her arms at her sides before falling back onto the bed with a smile on her face as the cool blanket puffed up around her warm body, a radiant glow emanating from her pink cheeks. The night had gone much better than expected; she hadn't been questioned by any of the guys, things didn't seem to be hostile or awkward with Jax, and she was back to her normal 'no strings attached' relationship with alcohol.

"Nu-uh." Tig heard her whining from the bed as he tried to walk to the bathroom, turning around to see her holding her hands out for him. He chuckled, letting her pull him down to the bed where he wrapped his arms around her.

"You tired?" He kissed her cheek, nuzzling his nose in her neck.

"Yeah." She sighed with her eyes closed and a sleepy smile on her face, feeling the sides of her mouth turning down. "You didn't sleep last night…" She probably wouldn't have brought it up if she was sober, but tipsy and on the topic of sleep; she was reminded of the few times she'd discreetly woken up the night before and he'd still been awake next to her.

"Couldn't." He answered easily with his lips pursed and his head shaking.

"Why?" She felt her lips turning to a pout now.

"Didn't wanna wake up and realize I was dreaming."

She smiled at the vulnerability and pureness of his answer, running her fingertips over the cross ring on his middle finger while his hand rested over her stomach. "Well you're gonna sleep tonight, right?" She rolled to face him, looking up at him with her innocent green eyes as her fingers danced across his chest. "Now that you know I'm not going anywhere…"

"Mhmm…" He hummed, catching her lips in a kiss as he rolled her onto her back. "I'm gonna sleep real good." He spoke with a sly grin, sliding his hand over her exposed midriff and up her shirt. "And so are you."

Sydney awoke early the next morning to a wet heat engulfing her chest, a sharp contrast to the cold air that whirled around her naked body under the rapidly spinning ceiling fan. She felt her back arch, her body giving in to the touch even though her brain was still too clouded with sleep to comprehend what touch it was that she was giving in to as she kept her eyes closed. A smile formed on her face as she languidly revelled in the pleasure that she quickly recognized as Tig's mouth, her sensitive and hazy body writhing under his lips.

His generous kisses made their way down her body, the softness of his tongue and the roughness of his beard sending goosebumps breaking out across her skin. She moaned softly but kept her eyes closed - too enthralled by the feeling to use her brain for anything other than indulgence.

Tig smirked when she stayed silent but let him know that she was awake and willing by parting her legs slightly for him as he got lower between her hips. He kept up the slow and sensual smooches, down her thighs and then back up - dragging his hands in sync with his lips as he spread her legs completely. His eyes rolled back when he could see her glistening in the low light, pulling his focus back to the task at hand as he flattened his tongue over her slit and licked a long stripe through her folds.

Sydney's back arched further, pressing herself against his tongue as he ate her out in the most gentle way possible - which effectively drove her crazy. Her fists dug into the mattress below her as she pulsed with need, forcing her spinning head back against the pillow as she felt her body growing hotter with desire.

Tig looked up at her as she squirmed uncontrollably, knowing that she needed more than just his tongue. He pressed a kiss to her hip bone before sliding a finger into her, eliciting a breathy scream from the back of her throat as her walls locked down on his digit instantly. He shivered, blinking a few times to try and shake off the electric shock that went straight to his dick as her arousal instantly coated his hand. He glanced up at her again, seeing that her eyes were still closed and that his slip-up had gone unnoticed, spitting down onto her clit before going back in with his tongue, alternating between gently licking and harshly sucking all while his fingers worked in tandem.

"Mmm, Tiggy." She whined between her moans which were getting louder and louder, it was too much and not enough all at the same time. "Fuck me…" She finally cracked her eyes open, the feeling of emptiness only increasing when she looked down at the erotic sight between her legs.

"I'm tryin to be nice here, baby." He pressed a sloppy kiss to her lower lips. "And you just wanna act-" He kissed her thigh as he pushed himself up to his knees. "-like a little whore." He smirked as he guided her propped up leg down to the mattress.

"Will you fuck me like a whore?" She closed her eyes as she stretched, her ribs sticking out as she dragged her hands down her body and brought her leg back up his chest, re-exposing herself to him. "Hmm?" She pressed her foot against his peck and looked up at him pleadingly.

"You sure, angel?" He looked down at her white toenails, feeling himself growing harder and harder. He hadn't planned on sex - he was just happy to have the opportunity to please her again - but if she wanted to cum on his dick instead of in his mouth, he would give her what she wanted.

"Yes, Sergeant…" She moaned as she dragged her foot down towards his erection.

"My perfect girl…" He rasped, leaning down as his large hands roamed up her sides appreciatively and he pulled her down to where he was hard as a rock. She was soaking wet - making entry an easy task, but he guided her down his cock with some resistance, letting her take in every inch slowly.

A hiccupped scream left Sydney this time as the intensity of the pleasure knocked the wind right out of her. Her eyes rolled back as her mouth lay agape, feeling his hand tightening around her calf as he held it in place on his shoulder. He rested his forehead against her leg as he stilled himself inside of her to let them both adjust, the sensation almost being too strong for him at the early hour as well.

"So fucking tight…" He groaned as he retreated, letting his head roll back before thrusting forward slowly.

Sydney's knuckles went white as she gripped the sheets below her, rolling her head back and forth over the pillow as the sensitivity consumed her while he began a slow but steady rhythm, feeling her insides quivering with every stroke.

"Flip me." She begged, out of breath with her eyes barely open as her hips instinctively rocked back to meet his. She could feel her orgasm building hard and fast, controlling the imploring requests rolling off of her tongue.

Tig obeyed, pulling out and roughly flipping her onto her stomach, sliding his hand under her to bring her to her hands and knees, but instead she laid back down on her stomach with her ass in the air. He felt a growl rumbling in the back of his throat as she presented herself to him eagerly, running his hand over her ass appreciatively as he guided himself back inside of her, his eyes rolling back again when her wetness slicked the tip of his dick, sending another jolt of sensitivity through him.

Sydney knew she wouldn't last long, but she didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, her body was not on the same page as she pushed her hips back, meeting his long and agonizing thrust half way before pulling forward and repeating the action. Her long moans swallowed every other sound in the room, reminding him that he was the only man on this earth who knew how to satisfy her.

"God damn, babygirl…" Tig groaned as she took control while he enjoyed the ride - literally, watching her tight hole swallow his thick cock that was dripping with her juices.

"Tiggy…" She whined breathlessly between moans, feeling her stomach coiling tighter and her head getting fuzzier.

Tig snapped out of his own personal heaven, remembering that he had a job to do. He gripped her hip lightly with one hand, taking back control as he leaned over her and attached his lips to her exposed shoulder, keeping up the long and deep thrusts.

"I'm here, baby." She felt his lips on her ear and his hand underneath her, keeping her pressed tightly against him as her entire body tensed and curled under his touch, waves of hot and cold crashing through her veins. She tried to open her eyes or speak but she couldn't, all she could do was succumb to the pleasure as it took her prisoner.

"I'm-" She couldn't even finish the sentence before her body gave into the rare occurrence, squealing as her orgasm hit her like a freight train and she gushed violently around him.

Tig was no match for her on a good day, let alone when she was squirting around his cock and screaming his name. He tried to hold on; let her ride out the high for as long as possible - but the excitement was too much. He buried his nose into her hair as he came inside of her, marinating in his own orgasm before his legs started twitching from the sensitivity that the extra lubrication provided.

"Jesus christ…" He groaned as he rolled off of her, landing on his back with a dreamy smile. "I love it when you do that." He looked at her with stars in his eyes, her cheeks red with embarrassment only widening his grin.

"Yeah, yeah…" She rolled her eyes, burying her burning face into the pillow.

"Nah, nah. C'mere." He tickled her ribs, pulling her into his arms where he pressed his lips against her jaw, sloppily kissing her over and over below her ear. "It's so fucking hot." He whispered as he ran his hand between her legs.

"You know what's even hotter?" She asked in a low coo, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Hmm?" He raised a brow.

"You-" She whispered as she turned to face him, lightly touching her lips to his chest and dragging them up his neck as she spoke. "Getting me a cup of coffee because I just squirted for you." She bit his earlobe playfully.

Tig chuckled and shook his head, obliging as he stood from the bed and pulled on some sweatpants. "You want anything else? Food?" He asked as he approached the door.

"Coffee's fine, I need to rehydrate." She joked, nodding to the soiled sheet with a bashful smile.

Tig returned her playful smile, closing the door behind him as he made his way out to the kitchen where he was met by Happy pouring a cup of coffee.

"Got enough for two more?" The quiet man nodded curtly, stepping out of the way.

"Heard you two made up."

"Oh yeah?" Tig smirked as he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. He knew that Happy wasn't talking about _actually_ hearing them making up, but he wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to push the Nomad's buttons after he'd pushed his.

"She's not usually like that." He observed.

"Yeah… She's usually a one and done but I uh… I keep her going." The curly haired man winked.

Happy's lip turned up in a wince as he recoiled. "That's not what I meant, dick." He stomped out of the kitchen. _This was what he got for engaging in conversation._

"Hey." Sydney turned around from where she'd been loading the washer with Tig's bedding, to see Jax standing in the doorway, shirtless.

"Hey." She returned the greeting. "You wanna throw anything in with this?" She nodded to the half-full washing drum.

"Nah, you go ahead. I just wanted to check in." Sydney felt herself stiffen with the familiar discomfort of being coddled, forcing it down with a deep breath instead of getting defensive. "You guys seem to be okay."

"Yeah." She nodded with a grateful smile.

"I'm glad." The VP smiled with sincerity behind his blue eyes, hoping to wordlessly tell her that he wasn't putting any weight on what had happened between them and that he wasn't going to bring it up again. "Never thought I'd miss the sight of you two mackin on each other." He grinned playfully.

Sydney rolled her eyes but laughed. "Did you get to hold Abel?" She changed the subject to something with less potential of awkwardness.

"Yeah, I did." His face lit up.

"Was it awesome?" She felt his infectious grin widening the smile on her face.

"It was pretty awesome." He chuckled.

"I've never held a baby, I wouldn't know what to do." She chortled through the surprisingly comfortable small talk.

"I didn't either." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Tara and my mom made sure I got in line." He smiled bashfully.

"Tara… And your mom?" Sydney raised a brow, thankful for her awkward situation being replaced with something _much_ worse.

"Yeah… I know." Jax scoffed.

"Did you two talk?" Sydney had been too preoccupied to think much about the doctor since she had unleashed the wild accusations on her, and she wasn't sure if she felt better or worse about the fact that not once during her tango with Jax had she considered the brunette.

"Nah, not with my mom there. Shit was tense."

"I bet." She scoffed. "You gonna try and iron it out?"

"Don't know yet." Jax bit his lip. He knew what he wanted to do - but what he wanted to do and what he knew he should do, were two different things. He knew that he _should_ just leave Tara alone - let her live her life on one side of the law while he lived his on the other; go on pretending like they're nothing more than old flames - despite the recent rekindling - who benefitted from each other's lifestyles from time to time. Even though he knew how much drama it would cause, how much drama it had _already _caused, he still couldn't stay away. She had just as much pull on him as she had ten years earlier.

"You should… She's got a lot of wrong ideas going in that pretty little head." Sydney mused, drumming her fingers over his bare chest as she brushed past him.

Sydney spent the day doing typical Sunday activities: she went to the gym with Donut and Happy before the Road Captain set off back home, bought groceries, washed her car, and bleached her hair. She rolled back onto the compound after the sun had set for the day, just in time to intercept Tig and Clay as they geared up to go and meet with Cameron.

"We heading out?" She called as she approached the two men mounting their bikes.

"We?" Clay raised a brow and looked to Tig who shook his head rapidly as a display of innocence.

"Yeah." Sydney grinned. "You're going for inconspicuous, right?" She nodded to their missing kuttes. "Group going out for a drink is much more believable, no one would expect a business deal to go down in the presence of a croweater." She mused, looking down at her attire. "You know what they say, 'two's a suspicious meeting, three's a party'." She winked as she rounded Tig's bike, swiping the spare helmet.

"Uh… Yeah." Clay blinked a few times and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess so." She had a point, and he realized that he may be in need of some of her negotiation skills once the purpose of their meeting was revealed.

Sydney smiled cockily at both men as she pulled the helmet down over her curls. She was smug with her sway over them, but her intentions hadn't been as pure as exercising a pull. She wasn't lying about her presence helping them blend in, but she wasn't truthful about the fact that she was pushing it in case the feds were still watching them. She was also dying to know what this meeting was about, and why a simple phone call wouldn't have sufficed - she wanted to be able to begin working out a plan for Laroy as soon as the answer hit her ears rather than having to think on her feet and risk showing weakness to the gang leader again.

Gemma pulled her Cadillac up in front of the bikes, rolling her window down as she scanned over Clay, Tig, and Sydney. She felt her heart picking up, a feeling that had consumed her since she'd seen Tara eyeing up Jax at the hospital the night before.

"Hey baby." Clay greeted his wife with a smile as he approached her low vehicle.

"Plain clothes?" She raised a brow in worry. "Where you goin?"

"Meetin an Irishman for a drink."

"Well be careful." She thought that the explanation would've eased her nerves, but it didn't. For some reason, it only made them worse.

Clay smiled, leaning down and kissing her lips briefly before waltzing back to his bike and taking off. He thought she was overreacting, but he'd learned over many years together that it was better to indulge and assure, than to deny and deflect.

"Sydney!" Gemma called to the blonde. "Come here." She nodded.

Sydney shuffled over to Gemma as quickly as possible without scuffing the red soles of her stilettos on the pavement. "What's up?"

"You watch them." The older woman ordered as she narrowed her amber coloured eyes. "I got a bad feeling…"

"Yes ma'am." Sydney smirked, her smugness only increasing when she was trusted with another task.

Gemma nodded, feeling a little more at ease to have a set of sharp eyes watching their backs. "You talk to Tig?" She lowered her voice, nodding to the curly haired man who sat watching the two women with a smile.

"Um, kind of." She answered casually.

"What does that mean?" She knew exactly what it meant.

Sydney felt her cheeks burning under the raised brow of the matriarch. She had been quite happy that Tig hadn't felt like a long conversation was necessary. They had established an unspoken understanding that they both knew what they'd done wrong and were finally on the same page about what they wanted and how to get there; they didn't need to talk about what had happened in the short time that they weren't together.

"Look at me." Gemma softened her tone, regaining Sydney's attention from the hollowness that had clouded over her previously lively green eyes. "I know you, and I know Tig. I know you two may think that you've got it all worked out, but you don't."

"Gemma-" Sydney sighed, beginning to roll her eyes.

"He hurt you. He needs to know that." Gemma cut her off. "If you let him think that you were okay without him, those same demons will come creeping right back in; will tell him that you only took him back because you liked the attention and the same shit will start back up." She spoke the harsh truth to the sweet girl standing hopelessly before her. "Love is enough to keep him happy, it's not enough to keep him sane."

Sydney nodded along. As much as she didn't want to even consider reliving that awful night, Gemma's words - as usual - made sense. She liked living under the blanket of delusion that her and Tig could say everything that they needed to say without words, but that was what had brought their relationship to it's demise in the first place.

"Good luck." Gemma smiled, touching Sydney's face and pulling her down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry dolls." Tig called apologetically. "We gotta go." Sydney nodded to Gemma before hurrying back over to Tig where she wrapped her arms around him as she buried her face into the back of his black jacket.

Tig pulled his bike up alongside Clay's where the President was waiting outside of the dingy Irish pub. He squeezed Sydney's denim covered knee, taking her helmet as she stood from the bike. "You okay? What'd Gemma want?" He asked as they followed Clay inside. He knew that Sydney was put off by something that the older woman had said by the way that she'd squeezed him so tight during the ride - and Gemma was known for scaring off girlfriends.

"To make sure I protect you." She smirked. "I'm okay." She nodded, turning her full attention back to whatever it was that they were there for.

"Hey." Tig nodded to Devon who was working behind the bar as Clay scanned the room, looking for Cameron who he spotted sitting by the far wall with his back to them.

He walked up wearily. It wasn't that Cameron Hayes was a stranger - he was McKeevy's cousin and local business partner who Clay had dealt with for distribution many times - it was that he was walking into this completely blind with the threat of feds and rivals still looming.

"Boys." Cameron greeted them with a curt nod, extending his hand. "Didn't know we had one more." He commented as he took a tentative glance at the little blonde with the bikers.

"Sydney Harding. Part of our crew." Clay introduced her.

"Aye." Cameron nodded, motioning for Devon to bring over another beer. "Welcome to the cause." He shook her hand with a small smile, moving his chair so that she would have room on his side of the table while Clay and Tig took the opposite.

"Pleasure." Sydney returned the bald man's smile as she took her seat next to him. She decided that of the two Irishmen, she very much preferred Cameron who seemed impartial to the fact that she was a woman.

"Where's McKeevy?" Clay cut right to the chase.

Cameron's face fell back into the frown he had been wearing before they arrived, staring at the condensation on the outside of his glass while Devon set down the extra drink and Sydney nodded her thanks.

"He's dead." He answered quietly once the bartender left.

Shock washed over the table when he delivered the news. Sydney's mind began racing, wondering how this could have happened, if it was a message from the Mayans or completely unrelated, and what it meant for them moving forward with distribution.

"Jesus…" Clay winced while Cameron shut his eyes in grief. "How?"

"The Oakland Port Commissioner threatened to bust open the shipment that was supposed to come in today. Wants to triple his pay off money."

"Hefner. Greedy prick." Clay sneered as Tig sighed. "Been riding roughshod over the ports for years."

_At least it wasn't the Mayans. _Sydney usually wouldn't have been glad to hear of an additional threat, but in this case - she would take it.

"Michael was pissed - went off on him for changing the deal. He got jumped by Hefner's port goons - they beat him, broke his neck, and left him for dead." His voice got thicker with emotion as he explained what had been done to his kin.

"I'm sorry." Clay sighed.

"That's awful shit man, condolences." Tig added, Sydney nodded her agreement as she touched the grieving man's hand.

"Thank you." He squeezed her hand lightly, turning back towards Clay.

"Anything we can do to help with this?"

"Aye." The Irishman nodded, tipping his glass back. "I'll be your full time contact from now on. I can get you your guns as soon as I find us a way around Hefner."

"You let us know if there's anything we can do to speed up the process." Sydney added.

"Lovely." Cameron smiled at her enthusiasm. "Glad we could work through this, Clay." He turned his attention back to the President.

"Me too, Cameron." Clay nodded with a sympathetic smile.

"How is uh, the cause going?" Tig reached for his beer.

"Like any good war - slow and steady." Snickers rounded the table at Cameron's lighthearted answer.

"Michael McKeevy." Clay raised his glass. "Good soldier, good friend."

"To a unified Ireland that'll never happen with nonviolence." Cameron added with a small smirk.

Sydney giggled, clinking her glass against theirs in the toast and tipping it back before her focus was drawn to Devon yelling at the door.

"What the hell do you guys want?" Sydney has been on high alert, slamming her drink down as her head whipped around to see what had caused the ruckus.

She felt everything around her slow down and blur into the background, any noise instantly being replaced by the sound of her own heartbeat when she caught sight of the two hooded men staring right at them, their hands clasped in front of them. It was like she was watching the scene in slow motion as their arms began to raise, revealing the guns.

"Get down!" She screamed, hopping out of her chair and yanking Clay to the ground behind the table as shots began ringing out, shattering the glasses where they'd been sitting.

Tig saw it coming half a second after Sydney did, dropping to the ground and reaching around for his gun as he heard the shots getting closer and closer as the shooters approached. He took a deep breath, waiting for the moment between bullets when he popped up from behind the table, firing three rounds right into the chest of one of the men while Devon took down the other with a single bullet from a shotgun he had behind the bar.

Sydney remained on the ground over her President. Something wasn't right - it was no longer the world moving slow around her, it was her moving slow in the world. The gunfire had already ceased but her ears were ringing so loud that she didn't even notice as she continued to try to reach for her gun to fight back. Her head was spinning so fast that she couldn't even look down to see what the problem was, but she could feel that her limbs were restricted as if she was trying to move through water. Eventually she recognized the sound of Tig's voice which, even muffled, was able to bring her back up to speed, but when she tried to lift her head to see what it was that he was saying, she couldn't. She blinked a few times, trying to gain her bearings as she took a deep breath before trying to move off of Clay but she couldn't do that either. All she could register was her heartbeat getting quicker with each time that she tried to move.

"Are you okay?" A worried Tig repeated himself from where he stood over his President and his old lady who hadn't responded the first time that he'd asked.

Clay began to panic for the first time since the attack, when Sydney didn't respond and remained covering him with her dead weight. He was okay, but he could tell that she wasn't.

"Yeah." He answered after peering up to see that she was alive and breathing. "Hey." He patted her bicep, trying to pull her from whatever panic she'd succumbed to. "It's okay." But that didn't work either. He turned his body under her, grabbing her arm and gently guiding her onto the ground.

"Oh shit…" Tig's face went white when he saw it.

Clay's eyes trailed down to where Tig was looking, finally seeing why she was unresponsive as her blue jeans turned red from the blood seeping out of the wound on her thigh. His worry that she had just been startled by the attack was washed away by the reality of something much worse. He pressed his fingers against the opening, feeling that the bullet was lodged deep into her muscle.

The surge of pain overtook the shock and sent Sydney straight back into reality as she recoiled and cried out. She knew now why her body hadn't cooperated and why she thought she'd bowed under the pressure. She'd been shot in the process of pulling Clay to the ground.

"Stop!" Tig yelled, racing over to her.

"Sweetheart…" Clay shook his head as he placed his large hand against her cheek apologetically. "This is bad. We need to get you to the E.R."

"No." She shook her head firmly. "Not from here. Feds will connect it to the Irish. This happened at the clubhouse - driveby." She choked out, clenching her teeth to test her steadily declining strength. She couldn't feel any lingering pain, but her mind was clear and she could feel her body shutting down.

"I'll call the guys." Clay stood, letting Tig take over. "Cameron, you get out of here." He knew she was right - they couldn't risk the feds drumming up the conclusion that this attack had something to do with the Irish, but he also knew that they didn't have enough time to wait for a car to get her to the clubhouse where they could call an ambulance. They needed to get her to , and _fast._

"I'll lock the doors." Devon scurried after Cameron, grabbing rags from behind the bar and tossing them to Tig so that he could apply pressure to the wound.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry baby." Tig winced as he pressed the palm of his hand against the wound, eliciting another awful cry from her which brought tears to his closed eyes.

"It's okay." She assured him shakily, placing her hand over his and pressing her fingers against his rings.

Clay stomped over to one of the bodies, lifting the limp arm and seeing the Mayan tattoo before throwing it to the ground. "Mayans." He sneered, spitting onto the assassin.

Tig went from visibly distraught, to an anger so strong that he became calm the second that the word left Clay's mouth. The Mexican scum had fucked with him one too many times. Keeping him from Sydney, trying to kill his best friend, _and now shooting his old lady. _

"I guess it's on." He spoke eerily as a murderous look came over him. This wasn't business, this was personal.

"And this war aint gonna be slow and steady…"

* * *

**Honourable mention to my sister who I suggested I name this chapter 'Fire in Australia' because "it's a bullet through Sydney"**

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya - Dropkick Murphys**_

_**Nate Growing Up - Labrinth **_**(I watched Euphoria last weekend leave me alone)**


	48. Straight Shooter

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 48: STRAIGHT SHOOTER**

"Are you kidding me? These guys are a joke!" Darby finished off his glass of milk as Andy bitched about the fights that they were watching on TV. "Is it just me? Or are they horrible?"

The bald man rolled his eyes, pushing the dark haired woman off of his lap as he waltzed into the kitchen for a refill. He twisted the cap off of the milk jug, replenishing his beverage when he heard the sound of the door being kicked in, seeing Andy go down as shots started going off. He dropped to the tiles below his feet and scrambled into the pantry as he heard the two women he'd bought for the night screaming and then hitting the floor, reaching for the gun that was on the shelf above him and holding it close.

"Watch my back!" One of the intruders yelled, heading his way.

His brow creased when he heard the footsteps stop, peeking out quickly once he heard whoever it was standing at his kitchen table, rifling through the contents of the manilla envelope. _The envelope that only Alvarez knew he had. _

"Yo we got it!" The gunman turned to his partner who was waiting in the doorway, confirming that this was what they'd come for. But he looked down to the ground at the man they'd killed and felt his mind start to race.

"Let's go! Esai's waiting!" The shorter man looked out the door at their getaway driver who was motioning for them to hurry. "What's the matter man?"

"I-I'm not sure it's the right dude...

"We gotta split, dog. Let's go!"

"Goddamn… It's gotta be." He shook his head before taking off after his partner, not wanting to think any more about the possibility that he had killed the wrong man.

Darby stood slowly when he heard the footsteps lead out the door and the sound of squealing tires, peeking around the corner to be sure that the coast was clear before he began assessing the damage: a destroyed living room and three dead bodies.

Jax bolted through the metal door as soon as they pulled up outside of Devon's Irish Pub with Juice, Opie, Chibs, and Half-Sack in tow. Even though he'd been briefed by Clay over the phone, he hadn't at all been prepared for the reality that hit him when he walked in to see Sydney on the bloodied floor, two dead Mayans, and a bar that had been blown to shit.

"Jesus…" He caught his breath, stalking over to Clay who was sitting on a barstool with his head in his hands. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Clay sighed. He wasn't worried about himself. "I can't track down Gemma though."

"She's at the hospital with the kid." Jax assured her as Half-Sack ran over to his injured friend, taking over for Devon who had been applying pressure to her wound which had been tied off by Clay's blue flannel.

"Okay, good." He sighed in relief. At least one of the women under his watch was safe.

"You know…" Sydney's eyes rolled back, fluttering as she tried to look at Tig who was sitting with her head in his lap. "I liked this position better this morning." A lazy smile spread across her paleing complexion.

Tig laughed and shook his head when she referred to her leg up on the prospects shoulder to keep the blood flow level. He couldn't believe that she was joking in a time like this, but it made him feel a little bit better, and he loved her even more because of it.

"Where's McKeevy?" Chibs looked to Clay from where he was on the ground feeding Sydney tequila from the bottle as he assessed the entry point. He began to worry as he made note of the minimal blood loss; there weren't many explanations for low blood loss in a severe injury - and none of them were favorable.

"He's dead. Port Commissioner had him beat to death." Clay sneered.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." The Scotsman cried as everyone took in the news.

"We'll get rid of the Mexicans." Devon assured the SAMCRO President.

"She's hurt real bad, we gotta get her to the hospital." Clay ordered his crew, he'd already known that it was bad when he felt how deep the slug was, but the look on Chibs' face told him all that he needed to know.

"Not a problem." Half-Sack spoke as he got to his feet, snapping a fresh clip into his glock as Clay looked at him with a raised brow.

Juice kicked the door open, making sure it was clear before he motioned for the rest of the crew as Tig and Clay carried Sydney out.

"Uncle Freddy's Infirmary at your service." Half-Sack couldn't keep the playful smile off of his face as he opened the doors to the ambulance that he'd stolen and been ridiculed for. Sydney cackled audibly while Clay smiled and shook his head, but Tig had no reaction. He only had room for one thing in his mind right now.

"That's gonna scar." Clay nodded to Sydney's thigh as they laid her down on the stretcher, hoping that some lightheartedness would keep up her good spirits and maybe help to lift his.

"You can throw my reaper over it." She grinned.

Clay chortled, stepping out of the ambulance to reconvene with his crew. Not only did they need to get her to the hospital; they needed to organize a lockdown, plan retaliation, and get to the bottom of this attack all while watching their backs.

"Sack!" Tig yelled harshly, summoning Half-Sack over to where he was crouched next to Sydney. "Stay here." He knew that she was more comfortable with the young prospect than she was with Juice and Chibs. "I'll be right back, okay baby?" His demeanor softened instantly as he turned his attention back to her.

Sydney blinked her understanding instead of nodding, preserving as much strength as she could - she needed it to stay conscious. She smiled when he kissed her cheek, bringing her hand up to his where she gripped his finger, the cold rings against her palm helping to ground her.

Clay, Jax and Opie stood outside the door to the bar as Tig approached. "You think this hit was about us, or about us and the Irishman?" His raspy voice controlled the conversation immediately. He wasn't interested in wasting any time.

"I don't know." Clay sighed, exasperated. He didn't know anything anymore.

"How would Alvarez know about the Irish?" Jax scowled.

"Darby man. It was Darby." Tig spoke slowly, growing angier and angier as he thought about the situation and how poorly everything leading up to it had been handled because of Jax's reluctance.

"How would _Darby_ know about the Irish?" Jax began to worry. He had been trying to keep things with the Mayans contained with the reassuring help of Sydney, but now, possibly because of his lack of action with the Nords, his insurance policy was looking at weeks of bed rest and a solid reason to out what they'd been trying to conceal.

"Same way he found out about us blowing up that packing house. The Mayans and the Nords have joined forces. I saw it happening weeks ago. I told you we should've handled it then."

"Alright… Let's not go starting wars because your girlfriend took a bullet."

Tig's expression hardened, taking a step towards the mouthy VP who dared to prod him in a time like this. "You better watch that pretty mouth." He nodded, speaking dangerously low. "Cause she aint just my girlfriend. She's as good as a member, the daughter of a neighbouring charter, and she took that bullet for _your _President. You wanna give Packer a call and tell him that?" Jax grit his teeth and looked away. He hadn't meant what Tig thought he meant, he'd only been saying what he needed to say to cover his ass, but unfortunately for him - it had come out completely wrong.

"Tig's right." Opie chimed in. "We need bodies, and we need guns." Jax shook his head, keeping his mouth shut as his genuine frustration began building. He _knew_ Tig was right, but he didn't want to think about what Tig being right would mean for the club.

"You with us here?" Clay asked.

"We're not ready for war." Jax sneered, ignoring Tig's threatening gaze. "We got no cash, no weapons surplus. Not to mention A.T.F.'s still in place-"

"We can always find cash and weapons." Clay cut him off, growing angrier by the second. Jax's reluctance on a light day was one thing, but his inability to act on a heavy day was another. "The question is: are you with us here?" His voice boomed.

The VP chewed the inside of his lip. "I'll get my mom to the clubhouse." He wasn't going to agree, but he knew that disagreeing would only cause more issues than they could handle right now.

Clay nodded, tabling the issue for now - his plate was full enough. "Someone needs to call Hap…" He addressed the elephant in the room that everyone had been steadily avoiding.

Chibs pressed his hand against Sydney's wound, feeling the same thing that Clay did: that the bullet was _deep_. The pressure made her cry out as the Scot grabbed her ankle to steady her. "I got you, love. But this slug is deep…" He worried that the longer they waited, the faster her muscle tissue would die. He grabbed his knife out of his pocket, flipping it open and sliding it under the cuff of her jeans, beginning to slice up the denim that was restricting her leg in hopes that it would slow down the process.

"Uh…" Sydney looked down worriedly.

"What?" He pulled the knife away abruptly.

"I'm not wearing panties…" She winced.

Chibs' face went white as he looked up at Half-Sack and Juice who were pale-faced as well, all three men jumping when her cackling startled them.

"I'm just fucking with you." She coughed, trying to recover from the toll the laugh had taken on her breathing, the grin not fading from her face.

"Jesus christ." Juice shook his head as Chibs exhaled with a chuckle and shake of his head, getting back to work.

Tig winced when he heard Sydney crying out from the back of the ambulance, both reminding him of the urgency of the situation that Happy _should_ be informed of, but of how terrified he was of how the Tacoma Killer would react when he found out that something had happened to his princess, under his watch.

"He's gonna lose his shit if he finds out we let something happen to her." Opie practically read Tig's mind, clearly not wanting to be on the receiving end of the Nomad's wrath.

"He's gonna find out anyways, dipshit." Jax rolled his eyes as he walked back towards his bike.

Tig looked between his brothers, and the ambulance. He knew there was no other option. They needed to get going and they needed to get going _now_. He pulled out his burner with shaky hands as Opie followed Jax and Clay climbed into the passenger seat of the emergency truck, chewing on his lower lip as he dialled Happy's number and held it up to his ear.

Happy sat against the seatback of Maya's couch, eating from a container of chinese takeout as they watched cartoons in silence. He hadn't planned on returning to the little blonde's house so soon, but he decided that he preferred Maya's questions to Tig's bragging and Sydney's moaning.

Maya looked up from her chow mein when Happy's phone began ringing. She'd been pleased that he'd decided to return to her so soon after assuming that she wouldn't be seeing him for a while. Her reservations about him leaving in the middle of the night had almost completely faded and she was back to enjoying whatever it was that they were doing.

"Ignore it." She laughed.

"I can't." Happy's serious tone had her instantly regretting the facetious reaction.

"Well, it was nothing last time." She tried to justify the logic behind her joke since he apparently couldn't understand it on his own. "It's probably nothing this time."

"It wasn't nothing." His tone grew colder. "I can't just not answer my phone, Maya." His black gaze bore right through her playful demeanor, stripping it back to reveal the serious one that she had been burdened with the other night, looking away to answer his phone.

Maya was surprised, this may have been the longest sentence he'd ever spoken to her, but the circumstances didn't make that fact a comforting one. She was greeted by the uncomfortable pit she'd felt in the back of her stomach the first time that this had happened.

"Hey man… Uh, you need to get down to St. Thomas." Tig rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to find the right words. "Be careful. We're going on lockdown."

"What happened?"

Tig's heart sank. He wished he could just hang up, let Happy find out on his own when he arrived at the hospital and the Sergeant was safely out of striking distance, but he couldn't, he knew that would only make things worse for himself.

"It's Sydney." He took in a shaky breath as he tried to keep his composure. Saying it outloud had made it real, removing the hazy cloud of anger that had dulled the seriousness of the situation. "Mayans went after Clay, she-"

"What happened to her?" Happy stood from the couch just as he had some nights ago, only this time there was no explanation to calm his racing heart.

"Crossfire." Tig jammed his fist into his eye, wiping away the tear that was forming. "She's-" The line went dead. "Fuck." He cursed under his breath, jogging back to the ambulance so that they could finally get going.

"Get in the front. Go." He ordered Juice who jumped out and ran to the driver's side where he started the engine, turning on the lights and sirens as they peeled out of the bar parking lot.

"You know what you're doin, Scotsman?" Sydney peered down at Chibs with a raised eyebrow as he examined her exposed wound while Tig stroked her hair.

"Yeah. Five months in Her Majesty's armed forces as a medic." He spoke as he slipped rubber gloves on and ripped open a pack of gauze.

"Five months." She scoffed.

"Til I was court-martialed." He joked, making her laugh before he got back into the heavy shit.. "This slug may have hit an artery, it's probably the only thing slowing the blood loss. The only way we're going to save her is with a doctor, _fast_."

Tig felt his heart speeding up. _The only way we're going to save her. _No. This couldn't happen. Not while she was smiling in his arms. There was no way she could end up not being okay with an attitude like that? Not after everything he'd done for this _not_ to happen.

"Drive!" He screamed to couldn't let himself accept the thought, not now.

"I'm gonna be fine Tiggy." Sydney tried to bring her hand to his face but she was too weak to reach all the way, smiling when she felt him taking over, holding her palm against his lips.

"I'm so sorry…" He repeated over and over as he shook his head.

Sydney wasn't worried about herself even as she began to feel the shock wearing off and the pain creeping in. What she was most worried about what this would mean for her; for them. She knew she would come out of this whole, but she didn't know if their relationship would. The last thing she needed was for them to land right back at square one after all she'd done to convince him that he could her to handle herself and that being with him was not a danger. She briefly wondered if Clay would feel the same about having her working in the club, but at least taking a bullet for him had provided her with a bargaining chip.

"Baby…" She sighed, feeling her eyes getting heavier as her thumb traced his lip.

"Princess! Hey! I need you to stay awake." Chibs warned, looking to Tig.

"I'm here angel, what is it?" Tig sprang into action, hoping that he could keep her talking for the rest of the short ride.

"I need you to promise me something." She whispered.

"What? Anything." He nodded.

"You won't do anything about this. Not until I'm okay."

"Sydney…" Tig wasn't a 'lie in the weeds and wait' kind of man. Infact, he was the exact opposite - which is exactly how he had earned the Sergeant's patch in the first place.

"Promise me. There's shit we can't see here. I don't want anyone else getting hurt." Her voice was getting quieter and quieter.

"Almost there!" Juice yelled from the front.

"It's not your job to worry about me." Tig shook his head.

"The club protects their own." She smiled weakly as she ran her thumb down the inside of his cross ring as her eyes closed.

"Syd!" Chibs yelled. "We're here! Stay with me."

Sydney woke up to the sound of people chattering around her. She took a deep breath but felt something restricting her, almost choking before her eyes flew open to see that an oxygen mask had been placed over her face.

"Shh." Tig touched her cheek, removing the mask as he walked along the stretcher where the doctors were wheeling her to surgery. "It's okay baby… It's gonna be okay. They're taking you for surgery, I'm gonna be right here when you wake up."

"No!" Sydney jolted up as she was suddenly overcome by the reality of the situation, but the pain knocked her back down and she felt Tig's hands trying to calm her as the nurses checked that her IV lines hadn't been disrupted by the outburst. She wasn't scared that she'd been shot, she was scared that she was being wheeled into a hospital operating room, alone. "No, no, no." The hysterics started as her head violently shook back and forth, tears rolling down her cheeks from the exertion that the movement was draining from her weakened body as the shock continued to fade and the pain grew stronger and stronger. "Don't. I can't be alone. Not here." She pleaded, taking his hand into a death grip.

The nurses looked to Tig, giving him a chance to calm her down as they stopped outside of the operating room in the small hospital and ran in to get the doctor.

Tig's heart was shattering and his sanity was following close behind, but he knew that he needed to be strong for her. "I'm gonna be the one alone, babe - waiting for you in the room." He spoke casually with as much confidence as he could muster as he gave a weak smile. "You get to take a nice nap, wake up to your sexy old man." He winked. "I'll be here with your damn Half Baked ice cream, and I won't even be able to complain about the _days_ of movies you'll make me sit through."

Sydney smiled at his attempt to make her think that he was jealous of her position, but she knew it was all just a ploy to calm her down. "The club will need you." She shook her head, more tears loosening from her eyes.

"Fuck the club."

"Tiggy… You're the Sergeant. It's your job to keep them safe."

"Never thought I'd have an old lady that I _didn't_ wanna hear that from." He chuckled humorlessly, looking into her watery eyes with a smile on his face. She was the most selfless person he'd ever met, finding time to scold him about tending to his club duties while she was bleeding out from an attack that _they _brought on. "They'll be safe at the clubhouse. Someone needs to be here to keep you safe." She said nothing, feeling a bit of her panic fading with the comfort of knowing that she would have him all to herself while she recovered.

"I'll be right here when you wake up. Okay? I promise." He held her face in his hands, staring into her eyes with so much sincerity that it made her dizzy.

"Okay." She nodded weakly as her voice cracked, loosening her grip on his hand and trailing her finger down his ring.

"Here." He looked down as her fingertip teetered off of the point of the cross. "You keep this." He slid the silver piece of jewelry off of his finger and dropped it into her palm, closing her hand around it. "For good luck." He winked.

"Tiggy, no…"

"You can." He nodded, folding his own hand over the gold heart around his neck as a reminder. "I'm right there with you, babe." He looked up to see the doctor standing on the other side of the door as the nurses approached.

"I love you." He pressed a kiss to her lips, pouring as much emotion into the short embrace as he possibly could, watching with a tight chest as she was wheeled into the operating room.

"Well." He was startled by a voice, turning to see a red haired woman. "I've certainly never seen anyone able to calm a gunshot wound patient down like that." She observed, impressed by the gentle nature of the scary looking biker. "She's going to be in surgery for a few hours. You should go home, get some of your things."

"I can't." Tig shook his head, his own shock starting up. "I don't want her to wake up and be alone."

"She won't be awake until the early hours of the morning at least. If you come to the front desk, I'll have them take down your information. We'll call you as soon as she's out of surgery."

He nodded half-heartedly, walking to the front desk like a zombie where he met Chibs who had given the admin as much of Sydney's information as he could.

"She's gonna be fine brother. She's a fighter, that one." The Scotsman winked.

Tig smiled weakly, giving his information to the soft-spoken asian woman behind the desk before walking out into the waiting room where he saw Chibs sitting with Happy and his heart sank all over again.

Happy had been fidgeting in the uncomfortable hospital chair since he arrived, ignoring Chibs' attempts to calm him down as he flicked the chain on his wallet between his fingers. He shot straight out of the chair when Tig finally had the balls to face him, stomping over to the blue eyed man.

"You let her get shot!" He yelled, attracting the attention of everybody within earshot,

"Aye! Not here." Chibs sneered, standing between the angry man and the guilt ridden Sergeant.

"She was protecting Clay." Tig shook his head as tears filled his eyes again. "There was nothing I could do."

Happy glared at him as he huffed, turning and stomping back towards his seat. He wasn't about to get himself kicked out before he had the chance to see that she was okay.

Gemma burst through the office door and into the garage. Scanning the crowd for Tig or Clay, but her eyes landed on the giant red truck instead. "Holy shit… Where'd we get an ambulance?" She scowled, her eyes following the pointing fingers to the prospect who smiled.

"What happened?" Her distraction faded when Clay rounded the vehicle, running to hug him.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, I'm fine." He assured her.

'"I knew it. Goddammit. I knew something bad was happening." She shook her head at her husband who had dismissed her worry earlier.

"Sydney's in surgery. She's gonna be okay.."

"Alright so… What do you need me to do?" Gemma knew that it would be a long list, it always was during lockdown.

"Well, we're gonna have a full house tomorrow. Maybe you could prep that - food, booze, you know.

"Okay, I'll get the girls into it." Clay looked at his wife lovingly before his face fell, the guilt rushing over him as he looked into the eyes of the woman who knew how to pull every single emotion out of him - no matter how far under the surface they lived.

Gemma hugged him again, knowing exactly what he was feeling and why. "Where is he?" She whispered. Clay pulled away, looking to the ground as he nodded to the back of the emergency vehicle.

She nodded, looking around the room at her distraught boys with concern before tentatively approaching the back of the ambulance, peering in to see Tig sitting on the stretcher, wringing his hands as he stared blankly at the grey metal floor.

"How you holdin up, Tiggy?" She asked him softly, placing a comforting grip on his shoulder as she sat next to him.

Tig opened his mouth to answer, but broke down instead in the presence of someone that he trusted with his emotions. He buried his face into the brown suede coat covering her shoulder, sobbing violently.

"It's okay baby…" She stroked his curls, turning and holding his pained face in her hands.

"She-"

"Whatever you're thinking, stop." She cut him off. "This is not your fault, and there is nothing that you could've done."

"I should've told her not to come." He shook his head.

"You think she would've listened to you?" She smirked.

"No." Tig scoffed, shaking his head with a watery laugh. "How do I be okay with this Gem? I can't lose an old lady. Not again."

"You need to remember what I told you; remember what this life is about." She raised her eyebrows. "She is going to continue throwing herself in front of bullets whether you're with her or not. So you might as well enjoy whatever time you two have under the reaper, together. It's what you both want, don't complicate it."

Tig nodded, taking a deep breath as he cleared his throat and pawed at his watery eyes. Gemma was right, and he was determined to keep up the illusion he'd slipped himself under; the one that let him believe that he was worthy of her love and that her demise wouldn't be at his hands - even if it meant lying to himself.

"Yeah, okay." He nodded again in a push to convince himself. "I'm gonna uh-" He got to his feet shakily, taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna get together some of her stuff to take to the hospital. Think you could help me?"

"Yeah." Gemma nodded, standing and kissing his cheek, knowing that Tig likely wouldn't have a clue what to bring.

"I'm gonna go get Tara." Jax announced from where he stood huddled against the toolboxes with his head down.

Gemma felt herself flinch, looking back at her son as she stood in front of Clay, the two sharing a glance as she remembered what Sydney had said about not pressing the issue. She wasn't bound by loyalty by any means, but she wasn't going to disrespect the wishes of the woman who had risked her life to save _her_ husband. Not right now, at least.

"You be careful." She spoke sternly, lifting Jax's head so that she could look into his troubled blue eyes. "I love you." She kissed his cheek.

"Love you too." He nodded, turning and walking out the door.

Tara pulled into her driveway from a relatively calm dayshift at the hospital after narrowly escaping overtime for an emergency surgery that had come in just as she was leaving. She breathed a sigh of relief as she sat outside of her house, for the first time since she lived in Chicago - she hadn't been scared to come home. She smiled as she exited the vehicle, planning a nice relaxing night consisting of a hot bath and a bowl of popcorn, but her smile faded as she heard the rumbling of a Harley coming up her street.

Jax pulled into Tara's driveway next to her car, glad to see that she had made it home safe. "Hey." He pulled off his helmet, practically jumping off of his bike. "Uh, I hate to ask you this but… You gotta come down to the clubhouse."

"Why?" Tara scowled with concern.

"Lockdown." Jax winced. Tara had always had a problem with the fact that the club and all of their associates would have to go on lockdown from time to time because of the shit that they stirred up, and he could only imagine how she would react now that she had responsibilities and no loyalty to him. "Sydney was shot." He added, hoping it would help convince her.

"Oh my god." She blinked, the new taking her aback as she realized that Sydney was the emergency surgery. "Is-is she going to be okay? What happened?"

"She's gonna be fine." Jax nodded.

Tara felt the familiar chill in her veins when he only answered one of her questions, just like he always used to do. She turned away from him, walking up the stone path to her front door so that she wouldn't have to look him in the eye and feel more of history repeating itself. He would always be the same guy that she couldn't count on.

"Tara." He called after her, jogging up the steps and following her inside.

"Jax. I can't. I have a job that I can't just leave. I'm sorry." She spoke as calmly as possible despite the mounting resentment she felt behind her belly button.

Jax looked to the grey carpet of her living room as he nodded and bit his lip. It was worth a try. "There'll be someone at the hospital with Sydney, I'll make sure they keep an eye on you too." He gave a weak smile.

"Um." She cleared her throat, shoving down her frustration. "I'm not sure what's going on Jax, but uh - I hope it works out okay."

"Yeah." Jax replied quietly, looking over the forced expression on her face. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Suddenly, her frustration was replaced by a different feeling. A feeling of yearning, of hope that maybe he wasn't the same guy, or that he could learn to be a different one. The feeling that she'd had in the back of her mind ever since she returned to Charming.

Jax saw the hope behind her eyes just as easily as he'd seen the discomfort. He gave a sympathetic smile. "You know… When I heard you were back in town, I ran the scenario of how this would work - you and me."

She paused, searching her brain for the right answer. "What'd it look like?" She laughed nervously, playing it off. She couldn't let herself believe that this was deeper than she knew it was…

"Like this. You wondering what kind of bad shit I'm doing, me sayin I'm sorry."

_He was the same guy._ "Yeah." She nodded, her face falling. "I guess this conversation feels familiar."

"Yeah. Cause I'm the same guy, wearing the same kutte. But you? You're someone different, Doc… That's a good thing." He smiled, turning to leave.

"Last night." Tara blinked a few times in surprise as the words started flowing out of her. The words she'd never even been able to comprehend, let alone say out loud. "I saw a father who loves his son. No fear of being vulnerable or letting someone in. It might be the same kutte, but it's not the same guy."

He couldn't do this. Not the push and pull, not now. "Goodnight." He nodded, taking his leave.

Tara sighed as soon as the door shut behind him, rubbing the back of her neck as she tried to fight off the tears. She shook her head, walking back to her bedroom but she was stopped by a hand over her mouth. She screamed and thrashed against the intruder's grip, eventually being taken to the ground where she looked up to find herself face to face with Kohn as she listened to Jax drive away.

* * *

**Something I realized while writing this… (I changed it and made Esai the getaway driver instead so that it would make sense) But how did Alvarez's son not know if he had killed the right guy? He literally SAW Darby and then his dad told him to kill him? Sutter wyd to me😩**

**Songs for this chapter:**

_**Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya - Dropkick Murphys**_


	49. Blood Brothers

**Thank you to everybody who sent in requests/suggestions for the flashback via my Tumblr post ❤️ I also made a playlist for the story on Apple Music (you can find the link for it on Tumblr as well). I'll be updating the playlist with every new chapter, and am also going to be making more playlists surrounding the story, so if you have any requests, let a girl know!**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 49: BLOOD BROTHERS**

Tig paced back and forth around the Intensive Care Unit at . He'd kept his promise to Sydney - he was there, ready for her to wake up despite the fact that he hadn't slept and it was nearing 5:00 a.m.

"Sir?" His head snapped up and his bloodshot eyes landed on the admin who was summoning him to the desk. He walked over briskly, hoping that he would be told that he could finally go in and see her.

The dark haired woman frowned when the biker approached so hopefully. "There's someone in the waiting room looking for you."

"Oh." His face fell. "Okay, thanks darlin." He tried his best to give a thankful smile as he turned away dismally. The fact that Sydney had been admitted as a gunshot victim with no statements given to police yet had made her visitation situation tricky; until she was awake and had spoken to the authorities, no visitors - besides Tig who had brought her in - were permitted in the unit.

"She should be up any minute." The woman called after him hesitantly, looking around the empty floor. "When you come back, I'll let you in early to see her." She wasn't usually one to risk her job to ease the tortured minds of loved ones, but something about the tall biker being so heartbroken and distraught over the little blonde girl had shown her a potentially different side to the rough and tough motorcycle club that she'd heard so much about. They were human just as much as everybody else in that building, they deserved compassion through hardship too.

"Thank you." Tig nodded, his smile coming a little easier this time. He left through the heavy metal doors, heading out to the waiting area.

"She awake yet?" Clay stepped out from a connecting corner, startling the exhausted Sergeant.

"Should be any minute." Tig caught his breath. "Nurse said she'd let me in when I get back."

"I talk to her first." Tig's brow creased, but he knew by the look of determination on Clay's face that it was best for him to keep his mouth shut - especially since he knew he would be taking a lengthy amount of time away from the club while they were in the thick of it. "Think you can distract the admin?"

"Yeah. Turn right, it's the first door on the left." Tig nodded half-heartedly, turning back around and pressing the button to the ICU, waiting to be buzzed in. Once he heard the lock on the door click, he pushed it open, letting it shut slowly behind him where Clay stopped it with the toe of his boot.

"Hey, doll." Tig smiled as he approached the admin desk again. "You uh… You think you could help me with somethin else?" A lazy smile pulled at his lips..

"Um-" The shy girl stammered, instantly regretting speaking to him in the first place. What had she been thinking? Putting herself in this position while nobody else was around. She willed herself to keep her eyes open, waiting for him to tell her to hide his drugs or let him bring in guns and that if she didn't comply he was going to rape her and have her entire family watch before he killed them all.

"Look I know you're not a doctor…" His raspy voice continued, as did the awful scenarios that ran through her mind as he reached for his belt buckle. Her hands began trembling when she watched her worst nightmare beginning to play out before her eyes. "But do you think you could take a look at this?"

She blacked out, shaking her head as she came to the realization that she wasn't being strangled or forced to the ground, she was staring at a bite wound on his ass.

"Oh my god! How did that happen?"

Clay chuckled at Tig's ruse as he slipped through the door, tiptoeing into Sydney's room and shutting the door quietly behind him. He felt his heart sink when he turned around, seeing her hooked up to all kinds of machines and IVs. He walked over to the side of the bed, brushing some stray hairs out of her face and letting his head fall. He stood still with his eyes closed and his knuckles resting against her cheek, flinching when he felt her stirring against his hand.

"Hey." He whispered, relief temporarily taking over his sorrow as he quickly sat himself in the chair at her bedside. "Hey, princess." He smiled when he saw a sliver of forest green as her eyes cracked open, moving his hand down to hers where he ran his finger over Tig's ring that she'd placed on her thumb - the only digit that it wouldn't fall off of.

"Hi." She smiled sleepily after a few seconds of recollection, answering her President in a rasp barely above a whisper - her voice hoarse from the tubes that had been there just minutes earlier.

He grabbed the cup of ice water from the tray behind him, bringing it up to her lips where she took a small sip. "Good?" He needed to be sure that she wouldn't be needing the immediate attention of a nurse. She blinked her heavy lids instead of nodding. "Good." He smiled softly as he placed the water back on the tray table. "How you feeling?"

Sydney stared at him for a few seconds, trying to decipher how she _did_ feel, realizing that she couldn't feel anything. "I can see why my mom got addicted to this shit." She slurred with a chortle, turning her head to look at the IV bag hanging above her as she revelled in the effects of the heavy drugs that were dancing through her veins.

Clay gave a watery laugh, feeling tears coming to his eyes. "Got the whole crew waiting to see ya… You gave us quite the scare." He looked over her again, needing more reassurance that she _was_ okay - still stuck in the awful, guilt-fuelled mindset of what he would do if she wasn't.

"Why'd you do that?" His voice cracked as he willed himself to ask the question. He'd been sitting all night, heavy with the weight of the fact that she'd taken a bullet for him - knowing that Tig could've lost another old lady, that a brother's daughter would've died, and it would've been his fault.

She let her head roll towards him, a lazily smile gracing her perfectly angelic face - the face of a woman who didn't deserve to be laying in a hospital bed for a sleazy old biker. "That's what brothers do." She squeezed his hand lightly as she succumbed to the drowsiness.

The door flew open right as Clay began trying to process how simple of a decision it'd been for her; jumping in front of a bullet for him - scrambling to his feet and reaching for his gun.

"Sorry man." Tig held out his hand to calm him, feeling bad for the abrupt entry - especially after tonight. "She's running to get me antibiotics, you gotta get outta here..." He trailed off as his blue eyes fell to Sydney, a watery smile coming to his face.

"She awake yet?" Gemma ran up as soon as Clay emerged from the unit doors.

Clay glanced at Happy who was asleep in a chair across the room, his head resting against the wall behind him. "Yeah." He spoke quietly. "But she aint allowed any visitors until tomorrow, let's get outta here. Got a long day ahead of us…"

Sydney felt herself beginning to wake up again, her consciousness not being nearly as clouded by the bliss of anesthesia this time. She vaguely recalled that Clay had been there, trying to gain enough strength to look around the dimly lit room for him, but her foggy brain and medicated body made that more of a challenge than she'd expected. All she could see was that she was laying in a hospital bed, alone. She felt her chest flooding with panic as she lay paralyzed - the same feeling she'd experienced during the shootout - blinking rapidly and gasping for air.

Tig was woken abruptly from the hospital chair he'd fallen asleep in next to Sydney's bed by nurses racing into the room and machines beeping loudly.

"Baby." He whispered in horror, jumping to his feet and looking down to see Sydney, wide eyed and shaking violently. "What's going on?" He demanded as two women began trying to stabilize her.

"She's just panicked. Morphine 'stops the pain but dulls the brain'." The older woman with stringy brown hair assured him with a smile. "She's just confused, the sedation is wearing off and she's trying to figure out what's going on. It's perfectly normal, we just need to make sure that she doesn't disrupt the wound."

"Hey, hey hey hey." Tig placed his hands onto Sydney's cheeks lightly once he was sure that he could touch her without getting in the way. "It's okay baby, it's okay." He nodded, his thumbs rubbing circles over her cheekbones.

Sydney stopped shaking, feeling some kind of coherence returning when her eyes locked onto his, being able to make out the feeling of his hands on her face. She made the decision to try to reach up, the first good breath of air laced with his scent filling her lungs as she felt her fingers make the contact she'd been seeking. She squeezed his hands as the relief enveloped her, whimpering as the panic began to exit her body in the form of tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tiggy." She wailed, pulling him into her arms where she began to hyperventilate immediately. Her chest heaved as she clutched onto him, crying harder as his comfort overwhelmed her and she sobbed into his shoulder - hysterical from the narcotics that had hijacked her logical brain.

"I'm right here." He hugged her, stroking her hair as he kissed the top of her head. He repeated Gemma's words over and over in his head, needing something to ward off the guilt as she cried in his arms.

Happy awoke to see that he was alone in the waiting room. He could tell that it was well into the morning now as nurses and doctors raced around him to get where they needed to be. He blinked, taking in a deep breath and inhaling the scent of bleach - remembering where he was and why. He shot up out of the seat, his long and purposeful strides carrying him to the doors where he pressed the button, only waiting a few seconds before pressing it again, and again, and again - all to no avail. He huffed, resorting to pounding on the heavy metal door until it finally cracked open.

"Who are you here for, sir?" A blonde woman in purple scrubs asked him from the doorway, a tall security guard standing close behind her.

"Sydney Harding."

"Are you her immediate family?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, sir." Her brown eyes remained glued to the clipboard she was holding, not daring to look at him while she delivered the news. "The only person we have permitted at this time is an 'Alexander Trager'. Other visitors will have to wait until she's been cleared."

Happy didn't hear anything after 'Alexander Trager', staring past the woman as she ran through the hospital policy. He had a clear line of sight straight into the window of Sydney's room where he could see her laying on Tig's chest while they both slept. He turned around, stomping blindly through the maze of hallways until he eventually reached the exit.

"**What the hell are you doing here?" Yates scowled as he turned to see Sydney walking into the clubhouse. "You're supposed to be getting your hair done and shit."**

"**I told you I wasn't going." Her tone oozed 'duh' as she looked to the dark haired man with a raised brow, lifting the hatch to enter the area behind the bar.**

"**Eh what's the matter Syd? No one wanted to take the princess to prom?" Tank teased with a grin from where he was sitting beside Yates.**

"**That guy didn't ask you?" Yates didn't bother trying to recall the name of Sydney's latest lap dog.**

"**He did." She shrugged, pulling out an order sheet. **

"**I thought you bought a dress?" Cobra took a puff off of his cigarette, pushing his sunglasses further up his bald head where they'd begun to fall.**

"**Yeah, I wanted to see it!" Tank waved his beer around in excitement.**

"**Sweetheart…" James sighed, setting his beer down on the bartop. "If you don't go, you'll look back and regret it."**

"**Dad." Sydney scoffed. "Look around here, look at what I do every day. You think that **_**senior prom**_ **is what I would regret?" She wouldn't have been able to wipe the look of disgust off of her face even if she wanted to. **

"**You're really not going to go?" He gave her a look of beseechment - he knew that she had a point, but despite everything, it was still important for him to know that he hadn't robbed his daughter of a normal life. **

**Sydney looked around the room of hopeful men looking at her with anticipation. "No." She replied dramatically, rolling her eyes as she turned away from their expressions of disappointment. She never thought that a group of bikers would be trying to convince her that a night of slow dancing with teenagers would be good for her. **

**Yates waited until Sydney disappeared on the other side of the bar, to approach her - not wanting to embarrass her in front of the guys. "What if I take you?" He whispered from behind her as she took inventory. He figured that she didn't want to go because she didn't have a date - something that he truly couldn't believe, but it was the only thing that made sense.**

**Sydney scowled at his close proximity and low voice before turning around to face him. She didn't understand why they all thought it was so deep, but she held back her eye roll. If they wanted to make a big deal out of something stupid , she was going to make** _**them**_ **feel stupid.**

"**You wanna take me to prom, Yatesy?" She tilted her head, looking up at him innocently as she trailed her fingers up his chest.**

"**I will." He nodded, holding his composure - and his breath.**

"**Mmm, yeah?" She closed her eyes with a seductive hum. "You gonna deflower me at the end of the night. Give me the full experience?" **

"**Uh-" He stammered. He had always thought she was hot, and he'd always been jealous that she flirted with Happy and that he never appreciated it - but now that he found himself in the trying predicament with the daughter of his superior, he understood why the Nomad always chose to deflect.**

**Sydney snorted, looking him up and down before leaning up on her tiptoes. "I'm gonna tell you the same thing that I told him." She spoke at his lips, moving her mouth to his ear. "No." She pulled away with a grin, rounding the bar back to where everybody was sitting.**

"**Come on." Sydney scowled as she was pulling up from where she was counting beer cases on the floor, looking up to see Happy yanking her elbow.**

**She looked over the wrinkled white button up that he was wearing under his kutte as he dragged her out from behind the bar. "We goin to a funeral?" She laughed. She'd never seen him in a shirt that fit him, let alone a shirt that fit him, **_**with buttons**_**. **

"**No." He continued pulling her along.**

"**Well then where the hell we goin?"**

'**It's prom. You need to get ready." Yates, Cobra and Tank all watched in anticipation, wondering what kind of reaction Sydney would come out with after they'd already grilled her about it. They shared glances, all clearly on the same page in thinking that it would be something explosive.**

"_**You're**_ **going to take me to prom?" She narrowed her eyes at him.**

"**Yes." His serious black stare bore a hole straight through her.**

"**Now that's more like it." She cocked her brows and bit her lip, leading him out of the clubhouse so that she could get ready.**

There was once a day when Happy was the only one that Sydney would've allowed on that visitor's list. It was something that until this moment, he hadn't realized he'd taken advantage of his entire life.

"Where is he?" Gemma sat at a table in the clubhouse with a cup of coffee, fidgeting with her lighter. Jax hadn't returned with Tara, and despite how she felt about the little gash - she would've given anything to see that they were safe.

"Relax." Clay sat at the bar with a beer.

"Don't tell me to relax." She shook her head. The atmosphere was tense and uncertain due the lack of sleep, worry, and anticipation.

"I called his cellphone a dozen times; Tara's house, no answer." Opie took a swig of beer, setting the bottle down next to the multiple empty ones at the table he was occupying.

"I can't just sit here." She sighed, pushing herself up from the table. The anxiety of sitting around was eating her alive. Gemma wasn't a 'waiter', she was a 'get to the bottom of things at once-er'.

"Hey." Clay grabbed her arm lightly as she passed by his stool. "Until we see where this lands, you stay put. Understand?"

"What if they got to him?"

"Jax can take care of himself." Piney calmly tried to reassure her.

"I'll take a ride to the hospital, see if he's there." Opie offered, kissing her on the cheek in hopes of mitigating the drama. He had enough marital drama at home.

"I'll go with you." Piney nodded.

"You take care of my boys." She ordered the older man.

"Always." He nodded with a sincere smile.

Sydney felt herself finally waking up properly after being in and out of consciousness all morning - feeling much more like herself as she squinted, trying to adjust her eyes to the fluorescent bulbs that lit her hospital room.

"Morning." Tig smiled when he saw that she was finally waking, getting up from the chair and moving to sit beside her on the bed. "You sleep a little better?" He asked tenderly as he brushed her hair out of her face. He'd been worried that sleeping in the bed with her would've caused discomfort that she would be feeling now, but trying to tell her that when she'd been delirious and needing his closeness to stay calm was no use.

"Better with you." She nodded lazily, brushing her thumb over his knuckles when she felt the empty space where her favorite ring usually was, looking down in surprise before she remembered that he'd given it to her before surgery.

"You remember saying yes?" He nodded to the cross ring that was around her thumb.

"What?" Her head snapped up and her eyes doubled in size.

"I'm just kidding." He laughed.

She let out the breath that had caught in her throat, laughing nervously before she shook her head with a discerning smile. "No fair, you wouldn't terrorize an injured woman…" She pouted.

"Had to get you back for doin it to me." He smiled, leaning down and hugging her after he was sure that she wouldn't go into sensory overload. "How do you feel?" He asked with his lips against her cheek.

"Mmm, good." She hummed, bringing her arms above her head as she stretched with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, happily coming to the realization that she didn't feel any pain. The sedation was fully out of her system now, and she was left with the euphoria of morphine. "Jesus." She blinked when she finally opened her eyes and noticed the vases of flowers lining the windowsill, trying to comprehend if she really was conscious after all. "It's like a florist's wet dream in here."

"Sure is." Tig chuckled. "You sure you don't got any boyfriend's I don't know about?" He raised an eyebrow at the multiple bouquets around the room.

"Guess you'll have to keep an eye on me." She grinned, tilting her head up to where he kissed her lips sweetly before the door opened.

"Um, sorry…" The same admin from before looked away bashfully before she was able to work up the courage to look back up. "There are some of your guys in the waiting room for you." She squeaked to Tig before scurrying away.

"You sure that _you_ aren't the one that _I _need to keep an eye on?" Sydney looked at him with a raised brow and a playful smile.

"Don't worry babe. It was only second base." He winked, kissing her cheek as he got to his feet and waltzed out to the waiting room. He was feeling much better that not only was she no longer crying out of discomfort, but that she was in her usual high spirits - it made things much easier for him to deal with.

"Hey." Opie greeted Tig with a nod.

"Hey." Tig hugged the father and son duo.

"How is she?" Piney asked.

"She's gonna be fine… Already giving me a hard time." Tig chuckled. "What's up?"

"Can't find Jax. Gemma's freaking out, Clay's stressed. You seen him around here?"

"Nah... " Tig looked around. "You check with Tara?"

"Nah she isn't here either."

"Shit… okay. I'll get the nurse to let me know if she gets here. Good luck." Tig nodded awkwardly, unsure of what he was supposed to do here. He knew that as the Sergeant, this kind of job landed in his wheelhouse: tracking people down, calming the matriarch, aiding his President. But he also knew that as an old man, his job was to be here with his old lady.

"What was that?" Sydney asked as Tig returned, plopping down in the chair next to her and beginning to fidget almost instantly.

"Ope and Piney - can't find Jax."

"They think he was hit too?"

"Don't know. What are we watching?" He quickly changed the subject to the TV that the nurse had turned on during his short absence.

"Real Housewives." She chuckled.

He nodded, his crawling skin making it impossible to focus on the skimpy blonde women that paraded across the television screen - something he never thought that he would have issues paying attention to. "You thinking about eating yet?" He asked another question when he realized that his usual methods of distraction weren't working.

"Tiggy…" Sydney sighed, turning off the TV and looking over at him. "Go." She nodded out the door.

"No way." He shook his head, reaching for the remote and turning the TV back on.

"They need you right now." She looked at him sincerely. "I'll be in and out of sleep all day, you won't be missing anything."

"Yeah? And what if the same thing happens? You wake up scared and I'm not here."

"That was from the sedation." She rolled her eyes, grateful for the drugs already because any other day, having to be reminded of such a big moment of weakness would've been a much bigger piss-off. "They're keeping me on morphine all day. Go - while I'm high on this shit and won't get upset."

"Nope. Not taking that risk." He shook his head.

"I'll be fine." Her tone was stern yet soft. "Hale's coming to take my statement later, which you can't be here for anyways."

"Come on Syd, don't make me choose…" He shook his head painfully.

"I'm not making you choose. I'm giving you your only option. Now get out of here before I buzz in security and tell them that you're the one who shot me." Her lips began to curl up.

Tig rolled his eyes with a smile, leaning down where he held her face in his hands. "I fucking love you… You know that?"

She smiled as she arched her back off of the stiff hospital bed and brought her hands to rest over his. "You have five seconds..." She warned at his lips teasingly with a grin.

"I'll take the risk." He husked as he softly pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. She yanked him closer, opening her mouth wider to let his tongue in.

"Time's running out." She told him breathlessly but made no effort to stop her movements - the high of the drugs and the taste of his tongue had her on a wave that she wanted to ride for as long as possible.

"I ain't goin anywhere if you keep kissin me all nasty like this…" He grinned, speaking his words into her waiting mouth as he hovered over her.

"You need to have more self control." She licked at his lips as she tilted her head, leaning in and capturing his bottom lip between her teeth.

"This _is_ me having self control…" His hand rested on her neck, his thumb under her chin to hold her in place as he continued to devour her mouth.

"Oh yeah?" She pushed further with a cocky grin. "What do you wanna do to me, Sergeant?" Her voice got lower as she rasped the seductive words.

"Princess…" He growled. "Don't get me started." His lips were on hers again before he pulled away, leaving her waiting with each time that he spoke. "Because I won't be able to stop."

"I guess I'll need to be the one to stop then." She looked up at him as she smoothed her hands up his chest.

"You couldn't stop even if you tried." He moved his lips to her neck where he lightly sucked on a spot below her ear.

She sighed as her eyes fluttered closed. "Hmm… Maybe you _would_ challenge an injured woman." She smirked.

"Two for one…" His grip tightened on the back of her neck.

"That just means that you owe me." She moaned out, the heat between her legs getting strong enough that she could feel it even over the body-numbing pain medication.

Tig smirked deviously as he watched her writhing under the sheets, trying to get some friction. "I'll be back for you later." He whispered into her ear, nipping lightly at her neck before he stood and stalked out the door.

Sydney bit her lip as her face flushed, watching him walk away, strong and with purpose. She felt the blush move down her body, shaking it off as she turned her glossy eyes towards the TV and laid back.

"What's going on?" Tig asked as he entered the clubhouse, scanning the room to see everybody except Jax.

Clay sighed and shook his head, looking at Gemma who was practically going crazy in the barstool next to him. He didn't have the energy to deal with her overprotectiveness, and Tig was the only one that he trusted to keep her safe.

Gemma pursed her lips as she felt her frustration boiling over when she saw them sharing glances. "I know he's with her!" She knew that if she just told Clay what she knew at Tara and A.T.F., he would side with her, but she was going to do everything she could to achieve her goal without having to upset Sydney.

Clay gave Tig the nod. The worry of something happening to Gemma in Tig's care was far less than the worry of dealing with her for the rest of the day.

"Come on Gem." Tig nodded out the door. "We'll find him." He placed his hand on her shoulder as he led her outside, knowing that the sooner he could calm her down, the sooner he could calm Clay down.

Gemma exhaled, feeling her climbing heart-rate beginning to slow, thankful for resolution before she did something that she would regret.

Jax stepped out of Tara's front door with his head hung. Even though it was well past noon, he was exhausted after the whirlwind of events that unfolded the night before. Physically exhausted, emotionally exhausted, and mentally exhausted. He was full of uncertainty. Uncertainty about the club, uncertainty about Tara, and uncertainty about the man that he thought he was. The only thing that he could now be certain of was that Kohn was gone for good.

He looked up when he heard the sound of a Harley, cursing under his breath when he saw Tig pulling up alongside Gemma's car in the driveway. "Jesus christ! You scared the shit out of me." She jumped out of the car and ran over, throwing her arms around the neck of her baby boy. "Where you been?"

"I'm sorry. I got caught up."

She ran her hands through his hair, scowling when she felt that it was wet. "You've been here? This whole time?" She pulled back to see the awful expression of guilt on his face. Once again, Tara was pulling Jax from what was most important. She'd known from the beginning and no one would listen to her.

"We've been worrying man. Trying to call you." Tig approached as the guilty VP stayed silent.

"I know." He didn't have the strength to come up with an excuse for what he'd really done last night.

"That's it? You know?" Gemma scolded. "Someone tries to kill Clay, and you decide it's a good time to get laid?"

"It's not like that, mom."

"If you wanna resurrect old trauma with this bitch, you do it on your own goddamn time!" Jax nodded, stepping away and walking towards his bike as Gemma stalked up to the front porch.

"She's not there. Don't go looking for her either." He called as he put his helmet on, holding back his wince when he realized what a poor excuse it was because her car was sitting in the driveway. "Mom!" He yelled when she realized the same thing, the frustration easily seeping through the haze that he'd entered at the crossroads. "Leave her alone." He ordered firmly.

Gemma chewed her lip in contemplation as she stood on the stoop, wondering if she should break the door down and teach that little bitch the same lesson that she'd tried to teach her years ago, or cut her losses and get her son away from there while she could. With everything going on, she chose the latter - for now.

Tig placed his boot on Jax's footrest as the VP mounted his bike, which went ignored. "Don't ever forget your first priority." He sneered, getting more frustrated with the disrespectful little prince. He'd been able to curb his feelings about what had happened to Sydney, but he hadn't been able to do the same for Jax's attitude - especially in a time like this.

"I didn't." Jax wasn't lying - he'd taken out one of their biggest threats - but his defensiveness made it impossible for Tig to know that. Gemma walked up slowly, looking between the two of them as Tig didn't let up.

"Get your foot off my bike." Jax ordered, but instead Tig gripped his handlebars, challenging the younger man before Gemma gave him a nod that told him it was time to go, staring at the light haired man a little longer before finally pushing off and letting him go, sharing in the matriarchs glance of concern as he rode off.

Jax sauntered into the clubhouse, feeling the air get heavier around him the second that he entered the building. The atmosphere was dreary and uncertain, and they couldn't have that - he knew that now.

"Jackie Boy… Where've you been?" Chibs sighed, holding out his arms.

"I'm here now." Jax shook his head, accepting the Scotsman's embrace. "Let's sit down."

Clay gave Jax a look that let him know that his absence wouldn't be forgotten, but wouldn't be discussed right now - summoning everybody into the chapel where he sat down and hung his head, waiting for the table to fill up.

"I know shit's heavy right now…" He began. "But until we know what's going on, we lay low. Nobody rides alone, nobody rides unarmed."

"No retaliation?" Jax scowled.

"We kill them. Now." Happy rasped, slamming his fist on the table.

"You were ready to start a war yesterday. What changed?" After years of pushing against Clay's brute force, Jax was finally ready to bend, and now that he was, they were falling back.

"And you were ready to curl up and let the Mayans kill us off. What changed?" Tig retorted in defense of his President. Jax ground his teeth. _Everything _had changed since last night.

"Other charter's are gonna start headin down. After Indian Hills, we've seen that the Mayans aren't afraid to expand the blowback. I wanna bounce it off of them before we decide on retaliation."

"Okay." Jax nodded along with his brothers. Even though he was feeling ready to truly step into his role as Vice President, he knew that this move was smart, and he appreciated that.

"I'm inviting Indian Hills down. They deserve some clarity after that shit last week." It was the perfect solution for Clay. He needed bodies, and he needed to build trust with the freshly patched over charter - this would cover both bases.

"That makes sense." Jax nodded, grateful that he would be able to patch up any damage that had been done, with his uncle.

"So when's this going down?" Juice questioned.

"Sometime in the next few days."

"Not sooner?" Jax didn't want to be locked down and anxiously awaiting another attack the way he had for months - he wanted to get this over with while he was fired up.

"We don't do anything until Sydney gets back." Clay lowered his voice considerably as sorrow laced his tone.

"Brother…" Chibs sighed. "I don't know if it's a good idea that she comes back…" He regretfully addressed the issue that nobody else wanted to.

"Look…" Clay sighed. "I know what you're all thinking…" He'd thought the same thing too, but they didn't know the details like he did. "But that aint the case here. We wait until she's back at the table."

"Why?" Jax's face scrunched up again. "She aint a member."

Clay took a deep breath and rested his elbows on the table, leaning his forehead against his folded hands. He didn't want to have to say it out loud, but he knew that it was the only way to make his crew understand.

"Because that bullet was for me."


	50. From Rose, to Red

**Look at me not taking 10 days to update😍**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 50: FROM ROSE, TO RED**

Tig closed his eyes as he listened to everybody take in the news about Sydney catching the bullet for Clay. He was torn - half of him loved being able to call the fearless woman his, but the other half of him couldn't help but cringe as he heard the gasps and sighs as everybody realized how close to death she'd come.

Everybody looked between Happy, Clay, and Tig - sneaking a few glances at Jax who just looked down at his lap - shocked as the reality of the situation was setting in; she hadn't been caught in the crossfire, she'd risked her life to protect the club. They all nodded in support of both their saviour, and their President, clapping him and Tig on the shoulder as the chapel emptied out.

Jax lugged himself down the hallway, into his old dorm where he locked the door behind him, walking over to the closet and digging out the box of old burners where he'd buried his father's manuscript. He sat down in the arm chair, flipping it open to the page where he'd left off, praying to find some solace in his father's guidance.

_I never made a conscious decision to have the club become one thing or another. It just happened before my eyes. Each savage event was a catalyst for the next, and by the time the violence reached epic proportion, I couldn't see it, blood was every colour._

He slammed the book shut. The exact same darkness that had taken over his dad, was taking over him - and he didn't know how to feel about it.

He shoved the worn leather covered parchment back into the bottom of the box and left the room, looking around the bar as he entered, feeling the cold sweats coming on under the dark cloud that shadowed him. He watched as everybody dismally returned to their posts; preparing food, standing guard, or stockpiling weapons. He needed to get it together, and he knew that there was only one way to do that - with clarity.

"Where you goin?" Gemma called after him.

"Need to get some stuff from my house." He lied.

She looked him over with the same concern as earlier, knowing that he was going to see her. "You don't ride alone." She ordered.

"I'll go with him." Opie offered. He could tell that something was bothering his best friend, and he knew it would be better for everybody if he was able to work it out sooner rather than later.

"Okay." Gemma nodded hesitantly, watching them walk out the door.

"It's okay Gem… It's all good." Tig nodded, patting her arm comfortingly.

"I've been calling you!" Jax and Opie looked up when they heard the squeaky voice across the lot.

"Ah shit…" Opie groaned when he saw Donna jumping out of the truck and stomping towards him.

"What the hell is going on, Ope?" She demanded when she reached him.

"Something came up. Clay needed me."

"The mill called. McCain said that if you're not there to pick up the second shift, your ass is canned-"

"I'll deal with it." He cut her off.

"Deal with it how? You're not there, you're out of work." She scoffed.

Opie looked around the compound discreetly, making sure that there were no guns visible to blow his cover. "We got something going here Donna…"

She chuckled humorlessly, shaking her head. "You lying piece of shit. Your promises were just smoke, weren't they?" Tears of anger came to her eyes.

"No." Opie lowered his voice and shook his head, he didn't want to have this conversation right now - in front of Jax nonetheless. "I never lied to you. I said I'd find a way to earn straight."

"They're gonna fire you!" She pushed against his chest as he tried to get closer to her. "The club's more important than taking care of me and the kids?"

"No, it's more important than spitting sawdust ten hours a day. I'll figure it out." He spoke with finality.

"I'm not gonna live this way anymore." She choked out. "I'm done with this shit." She turned away, listening for him to call after her, tell her that it was a misunderstanding and that she was overreacting, but he didn't. She'd been right all along.

Jax watched the situation unfold, feeling his heart sinking in his chest. He knew that in just a few short minutes, he would be having the same conversation with Tara. "Look man, I'm fine… You should go after her." He watched the old truck peeling out of the lot.

"I can't keep doing this. I can't get ahead without the club." Opie shook his head. "I need back in - guns, protection runs, all of it."

"But you still gotta talk to Donna. You got-" Jax couldn't think about the possibility of Opie being forced to conform to the heinous lifestyle the same way that he had just been.

"I'm done talking." He stared hard at the blue eyed man. "I want back in, Jax." This wasn't an on the fly decision, this was the sign he'd been looking for to finally make the leap of faith back into the only life that he knew.

Gemma stood in front of Clay, tapping her foot anxiously as he loaded an AK-47. She thought that after finding Jax her worries would have faded, but they hadn't. Her head snapped up when she heard the buzzing of the back doorbell, looking up to see Unser staring back at her on the surveillance screen above Clay's head.

Clay turned around, looking at the Chief with a chuckle. "Let him in." He nodded to Juice who took off down the hallway, returning a few seconds later with Unser in tow. "What could I do for you, Chief?" He asked as he snapped in the magazine.

"I came with a status update. Was hoping that maybe, you could do the same." It was evident by his sarcastic tone that the older man was _not_ happy with the events that had transpired.

"What happened?" Gemma asked from behind him, looking over his shoulder.

Unser looked at his lifelong friend, shifting awkwardly back to her husband. "Someone went after Darby last night. Killed one of his guys and two women, at his house, _in_ Charming. Seems a little strange seeing that your girl comes up wounded in a 'driveby' that nobody else witnessed." Tig's ears perked up when Sydney was mentioned, walking over to listen better.

Clay looked away from Unser's condescending gaze, not able to take any more guilt at the moment. "You think it was us?" Gemma surmised as she walked over to Clay and draped her arms over his shoulders protectively, as if she could shield him from Unser's accusations.

"Well, after I found two dead Mayans in a ditch off of 18 - yeah, I kind of came to that conclusion."

"I made sure that didn't land in Charming." The white haired man still wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Barely! Clay… This doesn't work if you don't give me time to _make_ it work. Hale's on his way to question her at the hospital." He shook his head. "Five D.B.'s... You know what kind of heat this brings? That haughty bitch is going to come circling back! I don't know what you want me to say."

"The bullet in her leg was meant for my head! I did what I had to do!" Clay lost his temper as the pile of shit kept getting higher and higher, throwing the gun down to the ground.

"It was the Mayans, they went after us too, man." Tig stepped in.

Clay took a deep breath, calming himself before he said anything that could _actually_ get him into trouble. "We didn't have nothin to do with Darby, and the Mexicans? That was the result of their own stupidity. They must've gone after Darby too."

"God dammit…" Unser shook his head, running through the best way to keep himself, and SAMCRO off of A.T.F.'s radar once again. "Okay. I need you to come with me, answer some questions - due process… We make this look routine, you're the victim of an attack."

"I got nothin to hide." Clay shrugged.

Happy stomped up the steps to Maya's house. He needed a quiet place to sleep because right now, his anger was too loud. He was thankful for his Nomad status - meaning that he could come and go from the clubhouse without being grilled about where he was going during a lockdown, and why.

Maya rolled her eyes when she heard the incessant rapping on her front door. She took her time, finally making it to the front of the house where she pulled the front door open, but didn't bother with the screen door as she stared up at him expectantly.

"Can I come in?"

"I don't know. Are you going to storm out in a few hours?"

"It's my job." It seemed to Happy that his fun little 'no strings attached' booty call was starting to run it's course.

"You mean _she_ is your job?"

"She's my family." If Maya had been referring to anybody else, this _definitely_ would've been Happy's sign that this relationship had run it's course, but he felt the anger bubbling higher in his chest as she stood in front of him with her arms crossed, disrespecting Sydney when she had no idea what had happened.

"Don't lie to me." She scoffed.

"I aint lying."

"Then fucking tell me Hap, because I don't appreciate being left in the middle of the night with no explanation."

Happy sighed. He didn't do this - these kinds of talks with women. But he liked Maya, she didn't ask questions and she took his cock like no one ever had before. She'd only become interested in his club life since Sydney had come up, and maybe if he threw her a bone - she would keep taking his.

"Okay." He nodded, pulling the screen door open and stepping inside.

Maya sat on the opposite side of the couch while Happy explained the situation - albeit briefly, but enough for her to understand what the true dynamic was. She felt silly for letting her jealousy take over when it had ended up being so unwarranted, leaving her wondering if maybe she felt a little more for her late night companion than she'd previously thought.

She wasn't oblivious. She knew what their relationship was - who he was, and she knew that meant that he was still sleeping with other women when he wasn't with her, that was something she'd accepted, but apparently that acceptance didn't go as far as she would've liked if she was going to be involved with a biker.

"What have I done to deserve a visit from Charming's finest?" Sydney grinned as Hale entered her hospital room with a friendly smile.

"A shot to the leg will put you pretty high on that list…" He chuckled bashfully, closing the door behind him.

"I'll have to remember that." She smirked as he sat down in the chair beside her bed.

"How you feeling?" He couldn't tell if she was _actually _feeling chipper, or if the flirting was just a consistent facade.

"Better now that I got myself some good company." She cocked a brow.

"I'm sure that's hard to come by, for you." He snipped bitterly, looking down at the clipboard in his hands. "Can you tell me what happened last night?"

Sydney ran through the rehearsed story about how she'd been working at the clubhouse and had gone out for a smoke, hearing the screeching of tires before she looked up to see an old vehicle pulling up with two men inside and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground.

Hale winced, feeling his chest tightening with anger - anger over the fact that the pretty little blonde was laid up in a hospital bed because of _them_. He set the clipboard down with a clenched jaw, searching her face for any anger or regret, but all he saw was softness - a softness that she wasn't supposed to be feeling.

"Sydney." He sighed, lowering his voice to something sincere and sympathetic. "If there's anything you're not telling me… Because of them, I-"

"I'm telling you the truth." She cut him off, looking into his eyes with sincerity.

"Do you see what happens when you associate with these guys?" He shook his head incredulously. "You only got hurt this time. Next time, you won't be so lucky." He looked to the ground, inhaling sharply. "I've seen what these men do… What happens to the women that are with them…"

"Don't kid yourself Davey." He flinched when he felt her hand sliding into his gently. "You know who I am." Her sweet voice hovered just above a whisper as she spoke the cryptic words softly into the tense atmosphere. "That's why you buried those tickets." Hale's head snapped up at the accusation. There was no way that she could've figured it out, could she?

The look on her face told him that she could. He ripped his hand from hers and stood from the chair, his jaw setting harshly and his blue eyes deepening with anger. "I was doing my job." He growled as he grit his teeth. He had still been riled up after the encounter with Darby this morning that had earned him a punch to the face, and this was not helping his temper. He was angry at himself for forgetting who she was, angry at her for making it so easy for him to forget, angry at Unser for tainting the town's law enforcement, but as usual, he was angry at SAMCRO for finding a way to sink their claws into every single crevasse.

"If you can't beat em, join em, right?" She flashed a cocky grin.

"I am not joining anybody!" He crouched slightly, lowering his voice. "I have five months until I make Chief. And when I do, there will be no more corruption, no more violence, and no more SAMCRO. I _will_ beat you, and when I do - it will be the _right _way." He sneered darkly.

Sydney sat up, tilting her head up towards where he was standing only inches from her face. "Game on." She whispered seductively with a devious smirk, sending him storming out of the room where he slammed the door behind him.

"She can have visitors." He snarled to the admin on his way out of the unit.

Jax sauntered into with his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking at the ground as he chewed his lip and made his way into the neonatal unit where he knew he would find Tara since she hadn't been at her house. He glanced into a few open rooms on his way through the quiet corridor, his brain ticking with recognition when he spotted her standing over Abel.

"How's he doing?" He approached softly with a small smile.

"Good." She smiled genuinely for the first time since the incident, looking down at the innocent little boy. "He's a strong-willed little guy."

"I thought you were gonna take a personal day?" He looked over her, it was obvious that she was exhausted by the dark circles around her eyes.

The doctor sighed, closing her eyes and hanging her head as she took a deep breath. "I tried to." She looked back up, trying to push away the fresh memory of what had transpired only hours before. "I had to get out of there, you know? It's fine - it's a light day."

"You okay?" Jax knew by the change in her tone that she wasn't, but he didn't know what else to say.

"I don't know." She shook her head in bewilderment, turning and walking away slowly. "Wha-" She cleared her throat as she leant against the doorframe. "What'd you do… W-with him?"

"It's done." He shook his head as he walked over to her, knowing that the gory details would do nothing for her conscience if she couldn't even be in the house where it'd happened.

"What do _we _do?" She asked shakily, the anxiety flooding over her.

He hadn't really had time to think about it in the heat of the moment the night before, but now all he could hear was the sound of Sydney's voice telling him about the wrong ideas that Tara had in her head. He supposed that maybe they both had some wrong ideas, and he needed to get them out on the table so that he could move forward.

"When Kohn showed up in Charming, he knew that this could only end either one of two ways - him dead, or you dead. It ended the right way." He nodded sincerely.

"Maybe I came back here knowing the same thing… And this was the only place I felt safe." She whispered as tears stung her eyes which were glued to his boots.

"It was survival."

"Did Sydney tell you that I came back here because I wanted you to kill him?" She practically cut him off when he tried to justify what she'd done. It's not that she _wanted _him to think that Sydney had been right, but every single voice in her head was telling her what a bad person she was. How could she let him sit here and try to tell her that she wasn't?

"No." Jax scowled, his anger taking over his confusion as his chest started heaving at her accusation. "And I've never killed anyone like that before, Tara."

Tara's heart sank when she realized what a mess she'd created - not just in her head, but with both Sydney _and_ Jax. "I'm sorry…" She looked at him longingly as he began to break down, maybe he really was a different guy after all...

"I've been wakin up every morning since he was born with a sick feeling - wondering who was gonna die today." He looked over at his son. "And it scares the shit outta me… And then I woke up this morning and it was gone. I think that scares me more." He felt his throat tightening as he came to terms with the fact that this was his life now. It was inevitable, he'd known that for years, and he was finally ready to accept it.

"Hey." Tara picked up his fallen face, bringing his tortured blue eyes to meet hers. "You're in shock."

"I don't think anything could shock me anymore." He scoffed, pulling away from her tender touch - the touch that a killer didn't deserve.

"What do you want me to do? How can I help you?"

"Just don't go anywhere."

"I'm not." Now that she knew the truth, the last thing she was thinking of doing was running.

As soon as Tig was no longer needed at the clubhouse, he raced back to the hospital with Gemma hot on his heels - insisting on being Sydney's first _real _visitor.

The dark haired pair waltzed into the hospital, making a beeline straight through the doors to the ICU. "Uh…" Tig slowed his pace as they approached her room, seeing that the door was closed and the shade was drawn. " I'm gonna go make sure she's okay."

"Okay." Gemma nodded, feeling a bittersweet clench in her heart as Tig showed so much care for the brave young woman - she just wished that it was under better circumstances.

Sydney's eyes fluttered when she heard the door creaking open, smiling sleepily when they landed on Tig. "Hi baby." She mumbled as he slipped through the crack, sitting up from where she'd been laying.

"Hey sweetheart." He smiled, kissing her on the cheek as he sat himself on the edge of the bed. "You napping?"

"Mmm, yeah." She sucked in a deep breath as she stretched with her arms above her head - taking advantage of the only mobility that she really had. "Did you find Jax for them?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah." He nodded with a grin which quickly faded as he remembered _where_ he'd found Jax. "At Tara's… For the whole night - turned his phone off." He shook his head with his lip turned up in disgrace.

"What the fuck?" She recoiled, instantly getting worked up at the audacity of the VP to skip out on the club in such a time of need. "Are you fucking kidding me? After Clay almost gets killed?"

"Don't worry about that right now, babe." Tig took her hand and brought it to his lips. "We're not making any moves until you get back, you can deal with it then." He smirked, hoping the proposal of giving Jax a hearty piece of her mind would be enough to calm the bear that he had so stupidly poked.

"Is… Is that smart?" She asked tentatively - knowing how important it was that they took care of this problem before it extended further than a wounded associate.

"Clay's got it all figured out." He nodded reassuringly.

"Okay." She responded weakly as she looked at the white blanket covering her, not feeling confident that this was the best move.

"Sydney…" He regained her attention. "What you did? That means something. Not just to Clay, to everyone. You're more a part of this than anyone else." His thumb stroked over her hand as he spoke candidly, his awe taking over. "We want you there, making these decisions with us, you've earned it."

"Okay." She responded easier this time, a genuine smile coming to her face. If taking a bullet was what it took to earn some respect - and Tig's trust - she would've done it weeks ago. "Does Packer know?" She asked regretfully, knowing the overreaction that would come from the San Bernardino charter.

"Yeah…" Tig winced, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Clay had to tell him - part of the plan with the Mayans. They'll be here soon." Sydney felt herself starting to panic. _They… _Packer was one thing, but all of SAMDINO?

"I don't want to see them." She snapped quickly.

"What?" Tig scowled. "Baby… They're your family?"

"Happy is my family." She shook her head. "I'll see them when I'm out."

Tig opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by the look of vulnerability in her eyes - silently begging him to respect her wishes without making her elaborate. His face fell and his heart sank when he realized what was going on - recounting the story from her attack by BTT when she was younger.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Thank you." She pulled him into her arms gratefully, resting her head against the cold leather covering his shoulder as she gripped his hand tightly.

He nodded slowly in response, kissing her temple. "How was Hale?"

"Pissed." She scoffed, laying back. "But we expected that. He asked his questions and cleared me for visitors." She shrugged.

"Uh… Speaking of visitors." He grimaced, looking at the door that he knew Gemma was anxiously waiting behind. "Gemma's waiting outside… She's been… Tense. Wants to see you…" He floated the idea cautiously.

"That's okay." She chuckled. "I'm fine with the guys… Just not-" She looked away awkwardly, not wanting to have to say it.

"I'm all over it, babe." Tig assured her with a playful smile. "I'll be your security guard." He winked, leaning into her lips.

"Mmm, I told you hired muscle was all the rage." She joked back with a grin, kissing him deeply and grabbing onto his neck, finally pulling away and resting her forehead against his. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled, kissing her again briefly.

Gemma stood outside the door, tapping her foot impatiently before she couldn't take it anymore, whirling around and stalking towards the admin desk when she was stopped by a glimpse of blonde hair through the window of the unit door.

"Hey!"

Jax sighed as he slowed his pace, he knew that voice anywhere, and if there was _one_ person that he didn't want to see right now… "Hey." He forced a smile as he turned to face his mother. "Just needed to see Abel."

Gemma spotted Tara down the hall before she could duck into the closest room. "Uh-huh." She nodded, unconvinced. "You gonna come see Sydney?"

"Maybe later." Jax shook his head. He could only take facing one reality at a time.

"Okay." Gemma's suspicious tone did nothing to calm his nerves as she kissed him on the cheek and bid him goodbye.

"You find anything to eat around this joint?" Tig looked around with a raised brow.

"Slim pickings." Sydney sighed, realizing just how hungry she was once food was mentioned.

"I'll go get you something. Let you girls have some alone time." He winked, getting up and opening the door, which Gemma pushed open immediately.

"Jesus." He groaned, catching his balance as he looked to the matriarch for an apology, but she was already busy smothering Sydney. He snickered, shaking his head and taking his leave with a smile.

"Thank god." Gemma cooed as she hugged Sydney, rocking her back and forth. "You know, when I said you watch my boys, I didn't mean literally." She pulled away, looking down on her with that infamous stare.

"You'll have to put that in the fine print next time." She chortled with a smile.

Clay walked through the station house, all the way to Unser's office - a place that he knew well. He looked to his left when a commotion arose, seeing Darby being dragged to the holding cells by two men - smirking at his rival.

"I uh… I didn't see this coming." Clay shook his head as he sat down. "Us and the Mexicans… Has been kinda quiet."

"I'm not an idiot." Unser deadpanned. "I know that this 'tit for tat' has been going on for months - since they torched your warehouse."

"Yeah. But comin after me, and Darby? That's a new kind of boldness."

"Me and you…" The Chief took in a deep breath. "Whatever the hell this is - always had one thing that we played out together: keeping blood and greed away from our front door."

"Well, we've done that." Clay shrugged.

"Until now. And my fear is that, knowing the amount of pride stuffed into that kutte - it will not end here."

"Fine." Clay scoffed, getting up and waltzing over to the window where he pulled out a cigar.

"You take out that Mayan boss, and you will trip a wire that sends this town into the history books." Unser was right on his heels as he tried to brush it off. "The bad guys will leave the ghetto and bring their filthy game to Charming. And next time, it won't be a few of Darby's scumbags who go down - it'll be another one of your guys, or Floyd, or some kid or something!"

"Sydney's fine." He ignored the scolding as he flipped his lighter open.

"The deal always was: outlaws live in Charming, shit beyond the borders. You can't change the rules, or it all goes to hell." Clay finally looked up to see Hale lurking outside the door, trying to get an ear in on their conversation.

"And that, my old friend." Unser nodded out the door. "Is exactly what Captain America out there wants: hell to break out in Charming, followed by all of the things that put the devil in place." He shook his head, pulling out a joint and sparking it up while Clay puffed ignorantly on his cigar, looking back out the window to the sound of motorcycles. "What the hell is this?" He scanned over the foreign kuttes of the visiting riders.

"Little family reunion." The taller man shrugged.

"Holy shit…" He sighed with an eye roll. "Did you hear anything that I just-"

"Enough! Enough… Alright? I heard your plea, loud and clear." Clay exhaled sharply, making the final decision to set his plan into motion. "There's only one thing that's going to make this work."

Tara paced up and down the hallway outside of the ICU, trying to work up the courage to face Sydney after the horrible accusations that she had falsely made. She took a deep breath, shaking her head before she let her feet carry her to the doors, scanning her keycard and taking a tentative look around the unit.

"Hey, Maggie." Tara smiled at the dark haired girl behind the desk. "How's it going up here?" She knew that the young girl was still relatively new at the hospital, and that dealing with SAMCRO wasn't always the easiest of jobs.

"Good." She nodded, thankful that she'd seemingly learned how to navigate the notorious MC. "You looking for someone?"

"Uh… Yes. Sydney Harding."

"You know her?" Maggie was surprised - Tara carried herself like a prim and proper woman, relatively quiet and professional, keeping to herself - she didn't expect the doctor to be involved with the bikers.

"It's a long story." Tara chuckled. "I'll tell you about it one day."

"Room 102, on the left." The starry-eyed girl smiled with excitement at the prospect of being let in on the secret life of Tara Knowles.

Tara smiled, walking up the hall slowly, listening to the polished floor threatening to squeak under her white sneakers. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself - realizing that perhaps _today_ wasn't the best day to be doing this, but she needed to get it over with, she needed _some_ kind of reconciliation with one of the things that had been causing her such turmoil.

She felt an unexpected calmness washing over her when Sydney came into view through the window; sat up in her bed with Tig in a chair next to her with her injured leg resting over his lap as he painted her toes.

"Baby… This looks awful." Tig shook his head with grimace as he looked over the sloppy paint job.

"No it doesn't!" She laughed, nudging him with her foot. "You're better at this than I thought." She wiggled her toes, trying to hold back her own smile as she too, looked over the subpar paint job. But she didn't care how it looked, it made her feel more like herself as she lay crippled in a hospital bed.

"And you're a better liar than I thought." He chuckled, kissing her on the cheek as he screwed the lid back onto the hot pink nail polish, looking up to see Sydney staring out the door - following her gaze to the dark haired doctor.

"Um." Tara approached awkwardly. "Hi." She smiled. "Sorry to interrupt…"

"It's all good, doc." Tig smiled, getting to his feet. "Ice cream?" He asked Sydney, sensing that this was a conversation that he wouldn't be privy to.

Sydney smiled with a nod, squeezing his hand before he took his leave, looking up at Tara with a more serious expression once he was out of view.

"He's sweet with you…" Tara commented in awe, taking the seat that Tig had been sitting in.

"Doesn't seem like he's capable of it, huh?" Sydney scoffed with a small smile, unsure how she was supposed to act as Tara spoke like a friend after she'd treated her like an enemy.

"Definitely not." She shook her head, watching her bouncing knee as she tried to find the right words.

"I didn't tell him, and I didn't do any of her dirty work." Sydney blurted out, the silence was almost as agonizing as the awkward small talk.

"I know." Tara sighed. "Jax told me after..." She let the memory come back, allowing the tears to fill her eyes. "After Kohn showed up at my house last night."

"Oh my god." Sydney sat up straighter, forgetting about the bullshit as shock filled her already tainted veins. "What happened?"

"He hit me, tried to rape me…"

"Tara…" Sydney whispered, feeling her heart breaking in her chest for the helpless woman.

"I shot him, in the stomach." She choked out a sob.

"Holy shit!" Sydney couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What happened to him?"

"I couldn't do it again." She shook her head. "I called Jax, he took care of it - the right way."

"Good." Sydney nodded. "How are you with that?"

Tara looked at the white panelled ceiling, sucking in a deep breath. "You were right… About him needing to be dealt with. But I- I thought I would feel better but… I just feel sick." She whimpered. "Like I'm gonna get caught, like I'm _not_ going to get caught, what's going to happen to me-" She broke down, burying her face into her hands.

"He was a threat. It was kill, or be killed." Sydney shook her head firmly.

"Is that what you do?" Tara scoffed in disbelief. "Make up your own moral code to feel better about this shit?"

"Pretty much." Sydney smiled sarcastically.

"Doesn't it scare you?" The older woman had never been able to wrap her mind around the life, even more so now that she was getting deeper into it. "What you're capable of? Or getting caught, or getting killed?

"I'm not scared of any of that." She answered easily.

"How? I mean… Some of it has to scare you. You were just shot for christ's sake!"

"Telling Tig that I loved him was the scariest thing that I've ever done." Sydney admitted with a sad smile.

"How the hell is that scarier than a murder charge?" Tara was beginning to think that maybe she should've waited to talk to Sydney, she was clearly talking out of her ass while high on morphine - there was no way that such a young girl _actually_ felt this way.

"Because I could lose him at any second." Sydney explained with a heavy heart. "This life is fast and short, there's no growing old together and watching the sunset on a porch swing - what you see, is what you get. You don't know how long you have them for, but you have to do what you can to make the time that you _do_ have, worth it - hang on and enjoy the ride, no matter how scary it may be." She stared deep into Tara's eyes. "Some people can't live like that - and that's okay. But don't get on the back of that bike if you're only going to make him stop and let you off halfway."

* * *

**I'm trying to pad these boring ass technical chapters with fluffy Tiggy lol please bear with me :)))**


	51. Wounded

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

**_General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death._**

* * *

**CHAPTER 51: WOUNDED**

Sydney woke up the next morning feeling like she'd been hit by a freight train as the reality of what being a gunshot victim _really_ meant started to set in. She lay with her thigh throbbing and her muscles aching with a nagging pain that had her clenching her jaw and holding her breath. She tossed and turned, trying to find a position that brought her some comfort as the effects of the morphine dwindled in her system, but it was no use.

"You okay, baby?" Tig mumbled groggily, opening one eye to see that she had pushed herself as far away from him as possible in the tiny bed.

"Too warm." She went with the first excuse that came to mind, hoping that he would just brush it off and return to his slumber that she had been trying not to disturb in the first place.

"I told you that you wouldn't like me hogging the bed." He chuckled, getting up and padding across the room where he opened the window, careful not to knock over any of the flower vases.

"That's not why." She ground her teeth as she laid on her back, balling her fists into the sheets.

Tig rubbed his forehead, pulling his boots on over his sweatpants as he quietly left the room at the early hour, quickly returning with a cup of ice water.

"Thanks." She accepted the water gratefully, gulping it all down and turning her focus to the sensation of the cool liquid traveling down her throat and through her chest before she crunched down on the ice chips.

"Better?" He asked as he sat down in the chair next to the bed, kicking his feet up and turning on the TV in hopes that more space and less body heat would help her fall back asleep.

"No." She grumbled as she clenched her fist around the ring on her finger, her frustration quickly returning as he got comfortable - denying her the one thing that made the pain bearable. "I don't want to see anyone today."

Tig frowned, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "Try and go back to sleep, I'm right here." He could already tell that today was going to be a bad day. He wasn't a foreigner to bullets or heavy drugs - he knew that as they began weaning her off of the painkillers, she was going to be restless, cranky, and uncomfortable.

Sydney turned away from him, laying on her unwounded side as she tried to ward off enough agitation to fall back asleep, but she couldn't - her mind was overflowing with discomfort and resentment, building a panic deep in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to shake this off with a long drive or a fast ride, but she couldn't ride, drive, run, or even walk. She couldn't even _shower_ by herself if she wanted to. She let her chest heave silently, staring out the window for what felt like hours before the nurse _finally _came in for her morning vitals - and dose of morphine.

Clay waited patiently with his feet up as he sat back on the sorry excuse of a bed in the holding cell at the station house, waiting for Unser to bring in Alvarez. He'd gotten half of the map from Darby, now he needed the other half from the Mayan king himself.

"What the hell is this?" Alvarez questioned once he realized where he was being taken. "The Sheriff said I was being brought in for questioning-" He was cut off by the man shoving him forward and locking the gate behind him. "Man what the hell!" He rattled the bars, finally turning to see Clay Morrow and his heart sank.

"I'm sitting here… Trying to think how killing me and the dirty white boy is a smart move for you guys." Clay began nonchalantly. "There's gotta be a piece of the puzzle that I aint seeing, or maybe you're just _really_ stupid, which… Seeing how you botched both hits - is a theory aint too far-fetched." He shrugged, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You got something you wanna do here, man? Let's get to it." Alvarez was fed up with these asshole white boys talking down to him - that's why he'd set up the hits in the first place.

"You mean like… Shiv ya? Make you suck my dick?" Clay grinned. "That's a little obvious, don't you think? Nah, you and me Marky? We're gonna have our own little MC summit."

"Oh yeah? We're just gonna figure it all out, are we?" The dark haired man was skeptical, to say the least. "I don't know man… Sons and Mayans? That's some real Arab-Jew shit."

"Eh, we got a little history." Clay shrugged. "But how about we talk about the present? Now-" He sighed, swinging his legs down to the ground. "You guys need guns, right? Half-ass gats you're buying off the streets barely scare the clerks at the seven-eleven-"

"We arm up just fine, ese." Alvarez cut him off, he wasn't interested in listening to the condescending man tell him all the things that he was doing wrong.

"Bullshit. You're packing toys - you need real guns. Maybe it's time for me to _expand_ my customer base."

Alvarez mulled it over, he _knew_ that they needed better hardware, _especially_ now that they no longer had the Nords on their side, but he needed to know what the angle was before he agreed to anything.

"Sounds smart." He shrugged noncommittally, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. "But what I _really_ need is the Niners' heroin trade… Can't take it if their guns are bigger than mine."

"I said expand, not exchange." Clay scoffed. "I'm still gonna sell to the Niners - if you guys wanna play 'operation ghetto storm', knock yourselves out. What I'm offering you is the same hardware, for the same price."

"And what's your end?"

"Peace of mind." He answered honestly. "Your charters up north - they settle all their beefs with the SOA, and I don't care what it costs you. And Nevada? Your charters leave my new crew in Indian Hills, alone. And the _first_ bullet outta one of my guns that hits a Son, or friend of? Ends the arrangement, followed by a hell that you don't even wanna know."

"What about A.T.F.?"

"It's a nonissue."

The Mayan smirked. "They knew about your Irish gun hookup, ese. Ship from Dungloe, oil drums - got intel on all of it."

Clay's forehead creased as he tried to process the information, it all made sense - the feds, the raids, but the only thing that didn't make sense was how Alvarez knew.

"That puzzle piece you couldn't see? Some A.T.F. agent you guys pissed off… He sent Darby a file. Same way he sent me footage of you guys blowing my packing site to shit."

Clay chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head. "And let me guess, Darby used it as currency: the guns for my hit."

"I hate that white boy." Alvarez smiled sarcastically. "Let my emotions get the better of me; the hits, bad planning, sloppy work."

"We'll call it even for the crack shack." Clay smirked. "I guess God had a bigger plan."

"Yeah." He scoffed. "I mean, here we are talking about peace."

"Aint no peace yet." Clay reminded him with a shake of his head. "Don't forget you tried to end me - wounded one of my own. That doesn't go unanswered. San Bernardino to Tacoma, my crew is going to want you head on a stick."

Alvarez looked to the ground with a nod of both understanding, and regret. "Your girl… She was never meant to get hurt." He chewed the inside of his lip, making his final decision. "I got a compromise that I think will satisfy everyone."

Enough of the pain had been taken care of that Sydney didn't feel like she was going to explode physically, but mentally was another story. Her insecurities began eating away at her as Tig sat by her side for hours on end. She tried to tell herself that she was worried he would get bored of her - having to tend to her every need while she was too drained to even make conversation. But she knew - not nearly as deep down as she would've liked - that it was because she didn't want him to see her so weak. There was only one person who was allowed to see her that way, and that person was nowhere to be found.

She could feel her anger building the longer that she sat condemned to the hospital bed as people passed by her room with wandering minds and sympathetic smiles, looking at her for exactly what she was: wounded - the one thing that she'd never wanted to be seen as.

"You don't have to stay." She deadpanned as she swirled her plastic fork around in the puddle of syrup underneath her uneaten pancakes. "I know this isn't fun for you." She pushed the tray table away as Tig looked up with eyes full of confusion, and a mouth full of food.

"You kidding?" He scoffed, swallowing his last mouthful of the dry, fast food breakfast. "_Days_ of uninterrupted time with my girl? This is the most fun I've had in weeks." He wiped his mouth, tossing his napkin onto the styrofoam plate. He could tell that the bed rest was starting to get to her, which didn't surprise him for someone as active and determined as Sydney, and he was sure that the weakness was taking a toll too - doing his best not to draw any attention to it.

"You're just saying that." She felt herself getting upset even through the bashful smile that he managed to put on her face.

He shook his head, moving to the edge of the bed and taking her hand. "I want to be here." He looked into her sad green eyes with sincerity. "But if you wanna be alone, I'll go."

"Where?" She whispered nervously. She didn't know what the fuck she wanted - she didn't want him to stay, but she sure as hell didn't want him to leave.

"Right outside." He squeezed her hand with a small smile. "I'll come back as soon as you need me."

Before Sydney could respond, they were interrupted by a knocking at the door, turning around to see Tara standing with her clipboard.

"What were you saying about _uninterrupted_?" Sydney chuckled to Tig.

Tig smiled and shook his head. "I'm gonna head out for a smoke." He left the two women alone, grateful for the timing - hoping that a break would help Sydney figure out what she needed.

"Did you sleep here?" Sydney looked over the exhausted woman who was in the same scrubs as yesterday underneath her white coat, with even darker bags under her eyes.

"Yeah…" Tara tried to force an awkward smile. "I just… Can't go back there right now."

"You talk to Jax?"

She sighed, letting her eyes fall closed. "I've been thinking about what you said…" She shook her head, sitting at the foot of the bed. "I don't know if I should get on at all… If I do, I don't know if I'll be able to hold on. What if something knocks me off again?"

"There _is_ such a thing as a grace period…" Sydney looked at her expectantly. "Time to figure it out before you _figure it out…_ I don't think Jax is going to be in much rush." She scoffed.

"Yeah." Tara chuckled humorlessly, biting her lip. "I guess you're right." She shook it off, blinking to refocus herself. "Are we okay? You know, after…" She trailed off uncomfortably.

"We'll call it even for me barging into your house." Sydney chortled.

Tara smiled gratefully. "The doctor was going to tell you this tonight, but they're going to be continuing to decrease your morphine intake, you're probably feeling some pain today, so they're going to wait until tomorrow to get you walking before releasing you on Thursday."

"You'll be shaking that ass just in time for my birthday." Sydney's head shot up when she heard the unrecognizable husky voice, a wide grin coming to her face when her eyes landed on Donut.

"Why are you always seeing me like this." She bit her lip and shook her head with an eye roll.

Tig smiled around his cigarette as he sat on his bike in the parking lot. He knew that Sydney had said that she didn't want visitors, but when he bumped into Donut in the waiting room, he knew that it was just the thing to cheer her up - especially since he had been the one to cheer her up the first time that she'd gone to the hospital against her will.

Just as fast as Sydney's mood had picked up at the sight of her good friend, it deteriorated - just like the morphine in her system. She could feel herself getting fidgety as she sat in the _same_ spot for the time that her and Donut talked, desperate to get up and walk around or do _something_ to take her mind off of the throbbing that she could feel returning in her left leg.

"Getting bored of me?" The burly man nodded to her bouncing foot.

"No." She forced a laugh. "Just tired."

"I'll quit keepin you awake." He winked, standing from his spot on the bed and leaning down to hug her, planting a kiss on her cheek before he made his way to the door.

"D?" He turned around when he heard her calling after him, swaying back and forth as he hung onto the metal doorframe. "Have you seen Hap?"

"No, kitty cat." He frowned when he saw the foreign look of defeat on her face. "He wasn't at the clubhouse - I assumed he'd be here." His brows wrinkled. There was no way that _Happy_ hadn't been to the hospital to see _Sydney_?

"I must just have my days mixed up… Drugs and all." She played it off with an eye roll and a small smile.

"Okay." Donut smiled, unconvinced but also unwilling to confront her about it at this very moment. "I'll see you later, for that birthday lapdance." He winked, closing the door behind him as he left, the smile on his face falling immediately as he stomped out to the lobby.

"Yeah?" Happy pulled out his ringing phone as he stood outside of Maya's house, smoking a joint while she puffed on a cigarette.

"Where the hell you at, man?" Donut's voice came down the line. "Sydney's asking for you… You haven't seen her?" The long haired man still couldn't believe it after the way he'd seen his tattooed brother act when Sydney had been hurt before.

"No one told me she could have visitors."

"I thought you'd be the first in line, bro. What's going on-"

"I was. They told me to leave." Happy defended himself before ultimately deciding to just snap his phone shut.

Maya raised a brow as he got angrier over the phone, but she didn't ask any questions. She figured she'd pushed her luck with that, she was going to save her inquisitions for things that mattered - or that she cared about.

Sydney lay on her back, nodding her head as the nagging pain in her thigh got stronger. She alternated between squeezing her eyes shut, clenching her jaw, and inadvertently tensing her muscles as she tried to absorb the pain. She felt panicked tears coming to her eyes again, switching her focus to her shaky breathing as she tried to calm down.

"Thanks man." Donut hugged Tig once he reached the parking lot of the hospital, grateful for the Sergeant being so patient and waiting around for them to have their visit.

"No problem." Tig smiled. "I'm glad you came to see her… She could use some friendly faces after looking at this ugly mug all day." He joked.

Donut laughed, clapping the older man on the shoulder. "She's in good hands, brother." He nodded, taking his leave.

All of Sydney's efforts to conceal the growing pain over the last couple of hours had resulted in a thin layer of sweat over her exhausted body, which she didn't notice until a breeze came through the window and a cold shiver rolled over her. She flinched, looking over and locking her eyes on the open window.

She knew that she shouldn't do it; push her luck while she was healing, but she was _desperate_ for some kind of feeling of control over her body, or at the very least - her surroundings. She sat up, slowly dragging both of her legs across the bed until they were hanging off of the end, scooting herself to the edge so that the soles of her feet were on the cool, tiled floor. She took a deep breath, using all of her strength to push her weight up onto her feet.

Tig waltzed back into the ICU with a smile on his face, daydreaming happily as he opened the door gently in case she had fallen asleep, a loud crash of breaking glass pulling him from his thoughts.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah." His eyes went wide, dropping his keys and pack of cigarettes onto the sink by the door before racing over to Sydney who was leaning against the windowsill with broken glass and water all around her bare feet from the bouquet she'd knocked over when she lost her balance. "What the hell are you doing?" He looked over her with concern as he held her upright.

"I'm cold." She grit her chattering teeth, feeling her face getting hot with embarrassment when she couldn't even close a fucking window.

"Baby, this is what the nurses are for." He spoke tenderly, scooping her up bridal-style and carrying her back to bed as she rolled her eyes.

Sydney was able to calm the temper tantrum boiling in her chest as he cleaned up the mess she'd made - stopping herself from a full blown breakdown. She avoided his eyes as he looked at her pitifully from the sink, looking down at her bright pink toes instead.

Tig winced, seeing the pain radiating off of her as she sat with her head down and her cheeks red. He walked over softly, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning down to look into her lowered eyes.

"Does it hurt?"

"No." She lied, sniffling as a tear trickled down her cheek before she swatted it away.

He frowned, not bothering to kick his boots off as he covered her legs with the blanket and laid back, pulling her down so that she was lying diagonally across him with her back to his chest.

"Are you comfy?" She asked meekly, hoping to mentally prepare herself this time if he was going to leave her alone in bed again.

"If you're comfy, I'm comfy, baby." He felt his heart clenching - she shouldn't be worrying about if _he_ was comfortable. He dragged his hand back and forth over her covered stomach, knowing that the light tickling would cause enough of a distraction from the pain in her leg. "I thought Donut would cheer you up." He told her sadly, wanting nothing more than to take her discomfort away.

"I did too." She sighed shakily, feeling something being placed between her quivering lips, realizing what it was when she heard the flick of the lighter.

"Tiggy." She looked up at him with a scowl. "I can't smoke in here-"

"I don't give a shit." He shook his head, lighting the end of the cigarette. "Nicotine withdrawals aren't gonna help you right now."

"I'm not a chainsmoker." She grumbled as she felt a rush of relief wash over her aching body, blowing out the smoke with a grateful sigh.

"Sure you're not." He chuckled, jostling her lightly as he felt her body psychically relaxing as soon as she inhaled the tobacco.

Jax took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart as he walked through the halls of - a place that he was becoming very familiar with, and knew that he would _continue_ to become familiar with from this day on. He picked his head up, walking tall and strong as he approached the next phase in his transition to the life of a true anarchist.

Sydney had dozed off after the blissful dose of nicotine had calmed her enough to be able to sleep off the exhaustion that the strong physical exertion had plagued her body with. She awoke without an irritable panic this time, listening to Tig's soft snoring as his chest rose up and down peacefully under her head, making the instant pain bearable for a few seconds longer - until she saw what had woken her up: Jax waving his arms about from outside the room, trying to get her attention without waking Tig.

"We need to talk." He mouthed to her, pointing to Tig and then pointing out the door.

He was right, they _definitely _needed to talk. She nodded eagerly, turning onto her side slightly and nudging Tig. "Baby." She wiggled her elbow into his ribs gently.

"Hmm?" His eyes shot open. "What is it? What's wrong?" He frantically scanned over her as she propped herself up on his chest.

"I'm hungry." She looked up at him with those glossy, innocent eyes.

"Okay." He nodded sleepily, patting her arm gently before guiding her to sit up, kissing her cheek as he got to his feet. "Diner?"

"Please." She nodded.

Jax peeked out from the adjacent room, waiting until the heavy double doors closed behind Tig to make his way into Sydney's room. "Hey." He greeted her with a warm smile even though he was scared shitless. "How you doin?"

"Oh you know… Kickin it." She tried her best to lift her heavy leg. "How are _you_ doing?" She raised a brow.

"Uh." He stretched his neck, trying to find the right way to start.

"I talked to Tara already." She could tell that he didn't want to relive the events.

"You did?"

"Mhmm. Once again, the good doctor has put you out of your misery, ."

"That bullet definitely didn't damage your attitude." He scoffed.

'I'm on a diet of painkillers and pity. What more could a girl want?"

"Hey, at least you got Tig waiting on you 'hand and leg'." He winked, nudging her foot.

"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes. "So what now?"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "But I know I can't do this - half in, half out shit. It's clear that I can't protect anything if I'm not focused."

"You protected Tara the way that you knew you were supposed to - now you have to get right with that."

"I'm ready to accept it, I just don't know how."

"Come clean to the club." She decided.

"What?" His entire face contorted. "I thought we said that was a bad idea?"

"Clay almost got killed and they think that you dipped out to get laid. You need to tell them." She scoffed. "You tell the truth - it'll explain why your focus hasn't been the club. You could even throw in that bit about how you've been watching their backs the whole time and how you took out a threat."

"I don't know… It was bad timing before but- " He shook his head. "Clubhouse is starting to fill up with other charters - seems like this is even worse to try and pull the hero card."

"Swing it whatever way you want. This is the only time that you have before shit hits the fan, be there to help decide where it lands, _VP_."

"Okay." Jax nodded. She was right - he needed to be a leader, not a follower. "Okay." He repeated with more determination, getting to his feet. "I'll call church. You gonna be okay alone while Tig's gone?"

"I think I'll manage." She smiled sarcastically as he got up and walked out the door with a charming smile.

"You know…" He took a step backwards into the room. "Aint just about Clay almost getting killed… You're the one sittin here. That counts for something."

"I guess pity's heavy on the menu tonight, huh?" She raised a brow with a playful smile.

Jax snorted and rolled his eyes. "Don't forget what I told you." He called over his shoulder as he left. He knew she was just being modest, but he couldn't laugh off a shooting as easily as she could.

Tig had just walked into the diner when his phone began ringing with a call from Clay informing him that Jax had called an emergency meeting. "Shit…" He looked around the restaurant busy with the dinner rush. "Okay, I'll be there." He snapped his phone shut.

"Hello?" Sydney picked up her ringing phone, grateful for the distraction as the pain was getting gradually worse.

"Hey, baby." Tig spoke apologetically as he made his way back to his bike. "Jax called a meeting with SAMCRO. I'm gonna send Donut back with your food - he can keep you company until I get back."

Sydney's blank expression turned to a frown when he mentioned Donut - remembering the look of confusion on his face when he found out that Happy hadn't visited her. She felt the panic returning - she didn't need to feel that embarrassment again.

"No, it's fine. I can just wait for you."

"You sure? You need to eat…" Tig contemplated going back inside - the club could wait.

"I'll have the nurses bring me something." She lied. "My evening dose should be coming soon, it'll probably knock me out until you get back."

"Okay." He agreed wearily. "You want anything on my way back?"

"Um." She felt her heart clenching and her eyes welling up. "I think I'll be okay." Why was it so simple for Tig - who had known her for all of two months - to make her his top priority, drop all of his responsibilities to do whatever it was that she wanted, whether it was _actually_ what she wanted or not, but the one person she was supposed to call her family, couldn't do the same?

"I love you." She kept her voice level.

"I love you too." He smiled before taking off towards the clubhouse.

Clay chewed the inside of his lip as Jax ran down the entire story of A.T.F.: Why they'd been raided in the first place, why his house had been vandalized, why the feds were circling - all because of Tara. It made perfect sense now that he had every piece of the puzzle, the intel from Alvarez, the truth from Jax, and the weight of what it all meant. Gemma had been right all along about Tara being a danger to her son, but her son was a danger to the club.

Tig stroked his goatee as he processed the information, finally understanding what Sydney had meant when she said that she didn't want retaliation until she returned. He also now understood the visits from Tara, wondering just how much of this Sydney had been privy to. He, of course, had gotten the information about Kohn and Tara from her weeks ago, but since Kohn had been driven out of town, he'd assumed that the shit they were dealing with from the feds was business, not personal.

"I took care of it. The right way." Jax concluded his divulgence with a confident nod. "I'm sorry that my personal shit bled on the club. It won't happen again."

'"You were trying to protect us." Juice assured him with a nod.

"Aye. You did the right thing, Jackie."

Jax appreciated the support from his brothers, but he knew that the support he _really_ needed was from his fellow officers. "Are we good?" He looked to Clay and Tig.

"Yeah." Clay smiled after a moment's hesitation.

"Good with me… I don't know how good you're gonna be with the voice in my ear." Tig chortled.

"Yeah." Jax chuckled. "I'm glad she aint here to chew me out about it." He figured it was best to cover her involvement with Kohn. If she wanted them to know that she helped him hide it from the club, that could be her own truth to tell.

"Speakin of the Princess." Clay steered the meeting elsewhere, he would deal with Jax later, _not_ in the presence of his club. "SAMDINO's gonna be gettin in tonight, and they're gonna wanna see her." He looked between Tig and Happy. "We don't let that happen."

"What?" Juice didn't understand, and apparently neither did most of the others as the perimeter of the table filled with creased foreheads and furrowed brows.

"It aint my request, it's hers." He leant forward, pointing his finger around the room. "And it's our job to honor that request." His tone held no room for negotiation, this was an order.

"So, any other _threats_ I should know about?" Jax heard the smug voice behind him as he stalked out of the clubhouse, turning around to see Clay standing with his hands in his pockets.

"You think I'm distracted?" He spit out as he stepped forward, red clouding his vision as his stepfather ridiculed him. "All this shit got me twisted up? My kid? Tara?" The defensive words began pouring out, unsure if he was more talking to Clay, or himself.

"Oh I am _very_ concerned about your level of focus." Clay scoffed, matching Jax's challenging step forward. "But I'm having serious doubts about your commitment to this club."

"I risked my _life_ for this club." He sneered.

"So did she!" Clay yelled, throwing his hand up in frustration. "Now I don't see you lying in a hospital bed. So don't talk to me about commitment."

Jax felt himself shrinking under the weight of Clay's words, shaking his head regretfully. "My commitment hasn't changed." He confirmed more calmly, remembering that the purpose of his admittance was to _avoid_ confrontations like this. "With the damage done to my family? Yeah, it's got me thinkin a little different. But I aint afraid to get bloody Clay, not anymore."

Sydney was finally able to lay back comfortably after her evening medication was injected into her IV stream. She sighed in content as the relief enveloped her body, enjoying it while it lasted because she knew that as the doses got smaller, the feeling would fade faster - but an empty stomach definitely helped to prolong the effects.

Tig hung back with the rest of the guys as they knew that Jax and Clay were having a discussion not meant for public ears, chatting with Willy and Chibs over a beer. "Packer's gonna be here late tonight, Nevada charters won't be far behind." Donut announced as he entered the circle, tucking his burner back into his pocket.

"Alright." Tig nodded, clapping the Tacoma man on the shoulder when he saw Clay re-entering the clubhouse. "Sounds good." He took his leave, heading for the door before he was stopped by an arm on his shoulder.

"Hey, Tiggy." Cheryl cooed.

Tig felt his heart sink as every bit of anger he'd been storing over the past few days, rose to the surface. He knew that he needed to keep his cool - not cause a scene, especially in front of visiting charters and members' families, but the feeling of her hand grazing his neck had his skin crawling like never before.

"I know you're with her…" The croweater tried to soothe his rage before it could start. "But it doesn't count if she can't satisfy you, right? It's like the prison clause." She dragged her nails over his chest. "You know I can satisfy you…" Her hot breath tickled his ear, smirking as he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside with him.

"You don't tell anyone about this." He ordered as they rounded the building where they were out of sight.

"Of course not." She smirked, draping her arms over his shoulders and tilting her lips up towards his before she felt herself being violently slammed against the bricks.

Tig had to control just how far his rage was willing to take this as he shoved her further against the wall by her throat. He'd had more than enough of the persistent gash, but he knew that another body at the hands of a scorned lover was _not_ what the club needed right now.

"You listen to me, and you listen good." He spoke with his lips brushing her ear as she screamed her pleas for him to stop. "Your time here is over. You got it? Done. You don't drink here, you don't work here, you don't fuck here." He pulled away to look into her fearful eyes, tightening his grip on her throat when she didn't respond. "Do. You. Understand?" He sneered through gritted teeth.

Cheryl nodded as her eyes got wider with the lack of oxygen. "Good." He spit into her face before finally letting her go, walking away as he heard her fall to the ground and gasp for air.

Sydney woke up sometime later, blinking as she tried to gain her bearings - noting that she couldn't have been out for long because it had only begun to get dark for the evening. Her blurry vision eventually focused, landing on the pair of black eyes that she'd been waiting days to see. But she didn't feel relief or happiness over the recognition, she felt anger.

"Why haven't you been here?" She spit out the first bitter words that came to her clouded mind, feeling her face getting hot as he sat in the chair with that blank fucking expression.

"I have." Happy defended himself against the rage that he had been subconsciously avoiding - which had inadvertently only made it worse.

"Yeah? Where? Cause you sure as shit weren't where I fucking needed you." Her chest heaved as her mind raced with everything that she had been holding in. He _knew_ how much she hated hospitals, she couldn't believe that he would do this to her again. "You were the _only _person besides dad that I was comfortable with. You knew that, and you left me alone."

"You weren't alone. Tig was here."

"And that makes it okay?" She shook her head incredulously.

"You don't need me anymore."

"W-what?" The soft words from the hard man took Sydney completely by surprise. "Yes I do." Her voice cracked. She couldn't imagine her life without Happy in it, she would need him until the day she died. "Hap, you're the _only_ person I need."

"You got Tig now." He shook his head.

"So I was just a chore that you held onto until you could pass me off?" She scoffed as tears began falling from her eyes uncontrollably.

"This is just the drugs talking." Happy clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the stinging in his heart when she started crying. He knew as well as she did that she wouldn't be doing any of this if she was sober. It didn't mean that it wasn't what she felt, but it was what he told himself so that he didn't feel as bad for the mistake he knew he'd made.

"That's more than I can say for you." Her tone was no longer laced with pain, it was laced with poison. "You don't give a shit about telling me anything. You don't tell me about your mom, you don't tell me where you're going, you don't tell me about your girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh yeah? Well then who've you been with while I've been fucking laying here?" Her voice got louder as her frustration built in response to his lack of. "Huh?" She screamed, choking out a sob.

Happy felt his own anger bubbling now, but it wasn't anger towards her - it was anger towards himself. He stayed silent, his jaw twitching as he willed himself not to look away from the painful sight like a pussy.

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut as he sat there without a care in the world. She let her breathing slow down, zoning out as she stared through watery eyes at the bandages peeking out from her hospital gown.

"You don't even tell me that you're proud of me." She whispered. It may have been her leg that was wounded, but she felt like she'd been shot in the heart.


	52. Scabbing Over

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 52: SCABBING OVER**

Happy shook his head angrily as Sydney continued to cry. He had been stupid to have let his emotions get the better of him, but he had been even stupider to think that he was going to be able to come here and have a logical conversation about abandoning her, while she was alone in a hospital bed.

"You know that I am…" His voice got lower, wishing he'd never said anything in the first place. "Syd, I'm-"

"What's going on?" Tig's voice of concern overtook Happy's as he approached the doorway to see Sydney in tears. He didn't even notice that the Nomad was in the room as he raced over, taking her face in his hands and wiping her eyes.

Sydney squeezed her eyes shut as his piercing blue orbs blinded her, eventually peeking through her wet eyelashes to see the empty chair where Happy had been sitting. She trembled as she stared at the vacant seat, a heavy sob building deep in her chest and finally escaping her lips, fully breaking down.

"What's wrong, angel?" Tig tried to coax it out of her as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"I just wanna go home." She lied.

"I know, princess… Soon." He nodded pitifully, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

Sydney only felt herself getting more worked up as he comforted her through another lie. She whimpered as she clutched onto his shoulder, thinking back to what Gemma had said about his demons, and how history would repeat itself if she didn't set the record straight. She sucked in a shaky breath - she couldn't lose him too.

"Gemma thinks we should talk." She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes as she tried to pull herself together.

"Okay." He nodded attentively, not putting much weight to the emotion-fueled statement. "About what?"

"When you left…" She began.

"Sydney." He shook his head, he hadn't at all expected _that_ to be what she wanted to talk about. "We don't need to talk about that-" He didn't want to relive the bitter memory, not now, not while he was hanging by a thread.

"Yes. We do." She cut him off. "Look, I know why you left. I'm not holding that against you. But…" She felt her eyes welling up again, shifting them downward as she forced herself to continue. "You hurt me… Really fucking bad." She whispered, letting the tears fall freely. "Then when that Nevada sweetbutt came back, I thought…" She trailed off.

"No." He shook his head immediately, meeting her eyes in a panic. He hadn't even thought about how that might come across, and now he felt awful. "Oh my god… No."

"Yeah." She chuckled humorlessly with a small eye roll. "I was a mess while you were gone… I was sad, and angry, and confused." Her head tilted up towards the ceiling as she took a deep breath, carefully choosing her next words. " And I broke down in front of Jax, and it was really fucking embarrassing." She rushed to get the words out, wanting to rid her mouth of the taste of regret.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered as he shook his head, tilting his eyes towards the ceiling and squeezing them shut in sorrow. The thought of her breaking down over him was both gut-wrenching and surprising - in front of Jax nonetheless - he knew that he'd hurt her, but he never really understood that he'd hurt her _heart_, not just her ego. "I'm so sorry…"

"I'm not telling you this to make you feel worse, and we don't need to talk about it anymore." Her eyes locked onto one of the blue circles in the pattern on her scratchy hospital gown. "I just needed you to know that I love you, and I wanted you back from the second you left, I just didn't know how to let myself accept that." She nodded distantly as she whispered the vulnerable confession.

"I knew that I fucked up… The second I said it outloud." Tig shook his head with his jaw clenched. "Knew that it wasn't what I wanted." He supposed that he hadn't really come to terms with what he thought she'd wanted in the time that he was gone. He knew that he'd been able to remind her of what she once wanted with him - and that he'd been able to keep up that memory, but since they'd gotten back together, he'd willed himself not to think about it at all.

"I know." She nodded slowly, bitterly remembering the pained look of pure regret on his face from that morning. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook the thought away.

"Tiggy." He flinched when he felt her soft hand gliding over his. "It's okay." Her voice cracked again when she saw the sadness in his crystal blue eyes. "It doesn't change how I feel about you… And I know how you feel about me." Before replied shakily, and before she knew it - she was crying again.

"I love you." Tig squeezed her hand and nodded painfully as she cried because of him. "And I would take it back if I could."

"I know." She whimpered, looking up as the tears spilled from her eyes. "Ugh, maybe I _don't_ like morphine." She chuckled humorlessly as she wiped her eyes again, willing herself to stop crying. They were going to get over this, once and for all.

"Doesn't seem to do either of us any favors." Tig scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I uh… I'm gonna go for a ride… I'll be back later." He had too much that needed processing after today if he was going to remain on the straight and narrow, and he knew that the only way he could do that properly, was alone.

"Okay." She nodded understandingly.

"Thank you." His own voice cracked this time when she didn't get upset with him for wanting to leave, even though she had every right to. "I love you." He leaned in to her lips and kissed her hard, quivering when she brought her hands to his face and touched him so much more delicately than he deserved, the feeling almost being enough to make him stay.

"I love you." She nodded sincerely, looking from his lips to his eyes, running her thumb over his cheekbone.

Happy sat on the picnic table outside of the gas station on the outskirts of the small town that he had been calling home for the better part of a year, smoking a cigarette as he ground his teeth in frustration. He watched as the last of his smoke drifted into the night air, dropping the butt to the gravel and grinding it under the heel of his boot before he walked back to his bike, his ears perking up when he heard the sound of a Harley approaching.

The Tacoma Killer felt his heart sink all over again as he watched the Sergeant speed past him, driving back into town as it neared 2:00 a.m.. He'd left Sydney alone under the petty pretense that she had an old man now; that she didn't need him as she once had, but now he was reminded of why he'd been weary of her getting with Tig in the first place - because he'd known that the asshole couldn't be there for her when she needed it. He hated seeing that he had been right about Tig, but what made him feel worse was knowing that he wasn't any better.

Tig tiptoed through the dimly lit hospital at the late hour. He had been gone _far_ longer than he'd planned, but he was returning with a clear mind, and for him - that was a _big_ deal, he just hoped that Sydney would feel the same.

Sydney awoke to Tig slipping through the door, not having been able to get herself into a deep sleep while she waited for him to come back. She took a deep, cleansing breath as she pushed herself up, leaning back on her elbows as she cracked her eyes open to see him by the window, quietly trying to replace the vase of flowers that she'd broken earlier.

"How the hell'd you get that here on the bike?" She blinked a few times to adjust her eyes, feeling much less emotional now that the spike of narcotics in her system had dulled.

"Damn, babe. You really _do_ have no faith." He chuckled bashfully when he realized she was awake. "You have a bath?" He asked as he approached, noting that her hair was down in tight waves rather than up in the messy bun she'd been wearing before he left.

"Yeah." She replied lazily with a smile, still hazy from sleep as she stretched her arms above her head and wrapped them around his neck as he leant down to hug her. "If you stuck around, you could've watched." She joked.

Tig pulled away to look at her suggestively with a raised brow, but he couldn't keep the smile off of his face long enough to maintain the facade before kissing her. "I love you… So much." He shook his head slowly as his forehead rested against hers.

"I love you too." She whispered, capturing his lips again. Everything that he wanted to say but didn't know how, he didn't need to - she could feel every unspoken word on his lips. He held her in his arms, not daring to pull away as her comfort enveloped him, washing away any remaining discomfort that he may have felt. His lips moved against hers passionately, tangling his fingers into her hair and holding her as close as possible.

Sydney wished that _this_ was what could be injected into her arm when she was in pain - the feeling of his hands on her so posessively, so protectively. She felt the lonely pit in her stomach feeling with need, a feeling that she welcomed with open arms as she pulled him closer by his kutte.

Tig realized as she ground her hips against the bed and pressed her chest against his, that things were heating up far past the sweet embrace that he'd intended. He gripped her swivelling waist, stilling her before he slid her down the bed before they reached the point of no return.

"Tiggy?" She stopped him with those innocent eyes looking up at him from where she sat, helpless on the bed. "Will you help me to the bathroom?" She lifted her hand expectantly.

He nodded, letting her brace herself on his arm as she pulled herself to her feet and he lifted her, carrying her to the bathroom just a few feet away before letting her down and slowly guiding her by her waist to the closed toilet lid.

"Are you gonna be ok-" He was cut off by her hand closing around his belt buckle and violently yanking him forward, looking down to see that devious smirk as she skillfully undid his belt and moved her hands to the zipper before he could even register what was happening. Even if his mind hadn't caught up yet, his dick twitched to life immediately -squeezing his eyes shut as his hips bucked involuntarily when she took him in her hand.

Sydney smirked as his body reacted to her touch instantly, tracing her tongue over the tip of his dick teasingly before she wrapped her lips around the head, massaging it with her flattened tongue as she took him further into her mouth with each bob of her head.

A deep growl formed in Tig's throat when she teased him, then began sucking him off with more expertise than he ever could've imagined. He could tell that after the emotionally trying day, she was after some normalcy, and he wasn't going to rob her of it - especially if it meant getting his dick sucked.

Tig's eyes glossed over as he watched the perfect girl that he was lucky enough to call his, gathering her hair in his hands as he groaned and tightened his grip. "You're so fucking hot…" If the sloppy blowjob wasn't doing it for him, the exhibitionism _definitely _was. His eyes rolled back, willing himself to still his hips that were instinctively rocking against her face, remaining mindful of her predicament.

With his cock in her mouth, Sydney felt the most like herself that she had since the incident. She sucked him greedily, showing her appreciation for his contribution to her regained confidence after a crippling few days. She looked up at him when he slowed down, teasing the underside of his cock with her tongue until his eyes met hers, allowing her jaw to go slack.

Tig raised a brow when he saw the suggestive look on her face and felt the pressure change. He thrusted forward slowly - testing to see if it was just wishful thinking that had taken over him, but in a stroke of luck that he only could've dreamed of: his question was answered favourably when her eyes rolled back and a moan vibrated his cock the second that he hit the back of her throat. A wicked grin spread across his face and a louder groan left his lips, pulling back and repeating the action before letting himself go completely - thrusting into her mouth violently as he watched her gag and choke on his cock with watery eyes until he couldn't handle it anymore and came deep in her throat, trembling as she licked him clean.

"Do you even have to pee?" He choked out as he caught his breath, bracing himself against the wall behind her.

"No." She rasped with a dirty smirk, wiping her bottom lip and sucking the spent saliva off of her thumb.

"You bad girl." He growled, leaning down and kissing her roughly, dragging his tongue through her mouth.

Sydney moaned when he kissed her so erotically, pulling his face closer where they began playing tongue-tango, raking her nails down his covered chest before they landed back on his cock - which was still hard.

Tig felt her guiding his hand down her body, getting lost in the moment as he allowed his fingers to wander the figure that inhabited his consciousness, until he reached the bottom of her hospital gown, - pulling away abruptly when he remembered where they were, and why. "I don't wanna hurt you." He shook his head regretfully as he leveraged himself against the back of the toilet, hovering over her.

If Sydney hadn't gotten a rush of power just minutes earlier, his rejection likely would've sent her plummeting back down the hole of pity, insecurity, and resentment - luckily she was too turned on to be reminded of all of the bitter reasons that she'd begun this chase in the first place.

"The only way you're gonna hurt me, is if you don't fuck me right now." She panted, looking up at him with those seductive green eyes.

"Syd… Come on." He pleaded with her. He didn't want to be put in this position right now, his position was already _hard_ enough.

"Fine." She snapped, pushing him off of her and getting to her feet in a rush of blind rage. "Get out then." She pointed towards the door, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you don't wanna fuck me, then I'll-"

"Yeah, yeah." Tig groaned with a smirk as he grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him roughly, spinning her around and bending her over the sink before her injured leg had time to collide with anything. "Enough of that."

Sydney felt a wave of pleasure wash over her that was _much_ stronger than the wave of rage-fueled adrenaline. She grinned as he took control of her outburst, feeling her entire body fluttering under his hands.

Tig shook his head with a chuckle as he watched her cheesing in the mirror when he took control and gave in. He gently lifted her wounded leg up onto the counter, holding it in place as his other hand slowly lifted the white gown enough to give him access.

"If there is any pain _at all_, you tell me." He ordered firmly, looking her in the eye through the small circle mirror hanging above the sink.

"Mhmm." She bit her lip.

"I'm not kidding." His hand swatted her ass before pushing inside of her abruptly.

Sydney cried out, letting her eyes roll back as she pressed her face against the cold metal of the sink and felt her inner muscles lock down on him as he allowed her to adjust.

"I love you." She pushed herself up to look at him in the mirror with a mischievous grin and lazy eyes, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Not as much as you love my cock." He scoffed, bucking his hips.

A hiccupped moan left her before a wider grin spread across her face. "Do you blame me?" She smirked.

He laughed, shaking his head as her relentlessness rivalled him head-on. He pulled back, thrusting into her again and listening to the familiar sound of her moans which he allowed to spur him on as he began a steady rhythm, holding her hips bruisingly so that he wouldn't disrupt her leg. Even if she'd given him enough reason to believe that she could handle this, he was still going to do what he could to mitigate any discomfort that she may feel later.

Sydney felt his fingers digging into her hips, but what she couldn't feel was his skin on hers. She reached down, ripping the boxy gown up her body for some proper contact. If he was going to leave bruises, she wanted the full experience of skin-on-skin.

Tig felt his pupils dilate and a shiver run through him. Even wrapped in bandages and a hospital gown, she was still an absolute fantasy to him - especially when she rolled up the rough material to reveal her tight little body…

His hands covered her tits instantly, pulling her flush against his chest while her ass bounced against his pelvis. He kept his eyes trained on hers, absorbing her moans with his lips as he willed himself not to look into the mirror quite yet, knowing the sight would bring him to the edge instantly.

Sydney felt her body giving in quickly with the way that he looked at her so possessively with his jaw clenched. She reached behind her, yanking him to her lips by his neck where she kissed him with a roaring fire, biting at his lips and clashing her teeth with his.

As he sucked on her tongue, Tig felt her grabbing one of his hands as she began tightening around him. He laced his fingers with hers, pulling her hand down to rest on the counter as he leant over her, squeezing tight as he brought her to her release, following soon after. He was still inside of her and despite cumming twice already, he could feel that he wasn't getting any softer as she mewled in his ear while they came down.

"Mmm kitten…" He nuzzled her neck with his eyes closed. "Does everything you do gotta be so fucking sexy?" He pulled away with a grin.

"Yes." She grinned back before he peppered her lips with sweet kisses.

Sydney woke up a few hours later with a smile on her face, feeling Tig wrapped around her from behind. She stretched her legs lightly, happy to feel that the pain was significantly less noticeable than it had been yesterday, and she hadn't had any morphine in over twelve hours.

She laid in his arms for a while, comforted by his warm, tight, protective grip, and his snoring in her ear as she lazily watched the sunrise out the window behind the colourful array of flowers. She smiled when her eyes landed on the bouquet he'd brought her last night, now having the time to properly admire it: blush pink roses peppered with baby's breath.

"I thought you'd like em better than red…" She heard the groggy voice behind her, looking over her shoulder to see Tig watching her with sleepy eyes and a small smile.

"They're pretty." She whispered, clutching his hand that was resting over her stomach.

"Sunrise is pretty too." He nodded out the window before kissing her temple.

"Mhmm." She sighed happily as she turned back around, closing her eyes and soaking up as much of this peace as she could before she had to face the reality of her situation that the day would bring.

Tig raised an eyebrow as their lazy, morning cuddling drifted into a new territory as he felt Sydney's ass grinding against his morning wood. He cracked one eye open to see that she was pretending to be asleep, rolling his eyes as he moved his hand to her hip.

Sydney felt a mischievous smirk ghosting her lips as she continued to squirm against him, feeling him getting even harder through the sweatpants that he wore. She felt his grip tightening on her hip, but he didn't say anything - apparently playing the same game that she was.

Eventually Tig couldn't take it anymore. Now that the emotional barrier was removed, his brain had reverted back to it's usual mode: sex. He rolled out of bed, shuffling past her quickly as he tried to hide his erection on his way to the bathroom where he intended to get rid of his problem, but it was no use. Not while she was just a few feet away...

Sydney giggled once he closed the door, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV as she sat up in the middle of the bed. When he finally came back, she looked up at him innocently before turning her attention back to the news that she was pretending to be interested in, a spark of electricity hitting her when she so suddenly felt his hands on her hips, sliding her down the bed before he took the place behind her and pulled her to lay back against his chest as his legs closed her in, bringing her wounded leg to rest overtop of his.

"This okay?" He patted her thigh gently, hoping that the elevation would help ease any pain that the previous sinful acts may have sparked.

"Only if you're trying to turn me on." She looked back at him with a playful smile.

"What the hell am I gonna do with you…" He groaned - hoping a playful demeanor would hide his genuine frustration - pushing her to lay back down. She giggled, nestling into his chest with a smile on her face as they halfheartedly watched the small TV.

"You feeling better today?" Tig asked as he rubbed her rib comfortingly.

Sydney nodded against his chest, refusing to give the question more thought than that because she knew that if she did, her answer would change.

Tig nodded slowly. He could tell that she wasn't in as much pain, and the drugs weren't enhancing her emotions, but he worried that as the time came to face everybody, she would fall back into the realm of frustration. "I'm not leaving today." He decided.

"Tiggy." She sighed, looking back at him with an eye roll.

"Nah." He shook his head. "You remember what happened every time I left yesterday?"

"I'd rather not." She scoffed with another eye roll.

Tig felt a grin pulling at his lips. "You're so perfect…" He spoke dreamily with a lazy smile.

"You're just trying to change the subject." She rolled her eyes.

"No." He answered with a grin that gave him away. "I mean it. There is not a single woman on this planet that could have me lookin like this." He gestured to the shameless smile on his face.

"Hmm." She squinted playfully. "I think it all depends on how good she could suck your cock."

"Princess… You better watch that mouth." He warned, feeling his dick twitching with the simple pass of the word 'cock' from those juicy lips.

"Mmm… Or what? You'll fuck it again?" She rasped, turning her body so that her lips were brushing against his chest as she spoke.

He tightened his grip around her waist, feeling the arousal buzzing behind his fluttering eyes, shaking it away as she watched him squirm. "Enough." He growled, chewing his lip as she turned back around with a smirk.

They laid in an electrically charged silence as Sydney ran her fingers over his hand that was resting on her stomach, and his other hand drew circles over the soft skin of her arm. Tig had barely gotten any sleep, but he couldn't get any more as he laid there with her heavy on his mind, feeling his hand slowly moving down her body no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that this _wasn't_ the time.

Sydney's breathing became shaky as the innocent patterns that he was rubbing into her skin eventually moved down her arm, to her knee, and up her leg - trailing along the inside of her thigh overtop of her hospital gown. She felt her body beginning to move against his motions subconsciously, attempting to guide his touch closer to where she desired.

He gripped the inside of her thigh to stop her squirming, the cold rings on his hand sending a shiver through her when they made contact with her hot skin. His lips found her jaw as his fingers traced the hemline of her panties, listening to her gasping before he let them slip inside of the soft cotton.

"I thought you said that was enough." She moaned breathlessly, arching her back off of his chest as he cruelly rested his hand on her mound.

"I did." He whispered in her ear coldly as he pressed his fingers to her clit and pulled her back against him. "So be good, before I change my mind." She may have had control over his mind, but right now, he had control over her body.

"Yes, Sergeant." She moaned as a wave of lust hit her, feeling his other hand trailing up underneath her gown, easily finding a breast which he kneaded while rubbing her nipple with the pad of his thumb. "Oh god, Tiggy." Her back arched again and her eyes rolled back as he teased her gently, keeping every touch featherlight and torturous as ever.

"What'd I say?" He growled through gritted teeth as the hand that had been in her panties, wrapped around her neck and pulled her back down against his chest.

The second that her green eyes met his, Tig's mind flashed back to what he had done to Cheryl the night before, panic flooding him as he waited for the guilt to cloud his vision and ruin the moment, but it didn't. All he could see was Sydney, looking up at him for direction as she ground her ass against his crotch.

"Stay." He ordered, letting his eyes trail down the predicament he had her in: wet and quivering between his legs, making the memory of the previous evening fade completely.

Sydney felt herself dripping when he yanked her down, not daring to look away as the smile spread across her face. She saw something flash behind his eyes once he realized what he'd done, but she didn't let up, nodding her submission to his command. If he wanted to work out his need for control the same way that he had helped her work out _her_ need for control, she was going to let him.

She felt the hand that had been fondling her chest, slowly sliding down her stomach and back into her panties. She moaned shakily, shifting her eyes down in hopes of catching a glimpse of the erotic sight.

"Dirty girl." He stilled his hand between her legs once again, tilting her head back when she tried to move. "You look at me." He ordered.

"I need you, Tiggy." She begged with desperate eyes as her legs began shaking in anticipation.

Tig felt his insides quivering, but he kept his composure as he shifted his gaze to her lips. "You need me baby?" He asked tauntingly as his fingers began slowly massaging her before his lips were back on hers, teasing her with his tongue.

"Mhmm..." She moaned as he kissed her, deciding to test her luck as she trailed her fingers down his arm and pushed his hand towards her slit so that he could feel how wet she was. She tilted her head back, reaching for his lips but she didn't make it before a breathless scream left her when he let his long digits slide all the way inside of her.

Tig's eyes rolled back as his mouth absorbed her gasp. He kept her in place by the hand on her neck, leaving her lips a hair away from his as he began fingering her while his thumb rubbed over her clit.

Sydney did what she was told, looking him in the eye and moaning into his mouth as he pleasured her, feeling her orgasm coming quickly as he held her in the confined position. "You're gonna make me cum, Sergeant." She whined in his ear.

Tig felt his senses all heightening at once when she let him do what he wanted despite her situation, _and_ talked dirty while he did it. He hadn't been wrong when he'd said that she was perfect - somehow, she knew exactly what he needed when it came to release _and_ control.

June Stahl sat outside of hospital, flipping through the pages of Sydney's file. There wasn't much on the young girl, but thanks to a few tips from Kohn about SAMCRO's newest associate before his unfortunate send off, she'd been able to do some digging of her own, and in that digging she'd found that her records had been altered by somebody on the police force - apparently the bikers weren't the only ones in this town that had taken a liking to the attractive newcomer. Even though she had only been called in by the deputy to help rattle some cages, she hoped that with this new breakthrough in the investigation and a direct line to the club itself - the little blonde would be the key to finally taking these corrupt assholes down.

Sydney had been thoroughly enjoying her last full day in the hospital - something she never thought she'd say. But the looming dread of what tomorrow would bring was enough to force gratitude onto her. As the day carried on, the discomfort hadn't grown much, and it was even less prominent after her final dose had been administered around lunch time. The nurses had her start walking around and despite prominent limp and shooting pain - she was beginning to feel more like herself as she finally became somewhat self-sufficient again.

She sat with a smile on her face as her and Tig played poker, betting with whatever currency they could find around the small room which had largely consisted of sexual favors, snacks, and movie choices.

"Sydney Harding?" She looked up from her cards to see a woman standing in the doorway, dressed in a black pantsuit. She immediately recognized the woman as the fed who had picked Clay up a few weeks ago.

"Nah." Tig shook his head when he saw the fed, standing from the chair and walking straight to the door where he began pulling it closed. "No visitors."

Sydney looked out the window to see Hale standing by the unit doors with a smirk. So this was his next move... Bringing somebody else in to do his dirty work.

"Let her in." She pulled her eyes away from the cop. If this was his idea of a challenge, she would accept it gratefully.

Tig looked back at her with a raised brow. He knew that this uptight bitch was bad news for the club, and he had no problem telling her to come back when she had a warrant.

Sydney nodded, watching him wearily step aside. "Let you off the hook for those shitty cards I know you have." She winked, watching a smile pull at his lips as he closed the door behind him before anger took right back over, snarling at Hale as he stalked outside to make a call to Clay.

"You've got quite the guard dog there." The blue eyed woman commented.

"Indeed I do." Sydney nodded. "What can I do for you, agent…" She looked the woman up and down expectantly.

"Stahl. June Stahl, A.T.F." She introduced herself formally.

"Mm." Sydney nodded in disinterest. "And what can I do for you, June Stahl?"

"You can do a couple of things for me, actually. You can start by telling me why you were shot."

"A good agent like you didn't read the police report before you came over?" Sydney questioned incredulously.

"Oh I did. So, you… Go out to enjoy a smoke in a pair of Louboutins, and you leave in a wheelchair. I'm sure you can see why I'm a little confused."

"Dangerous world." She shrugged.

"Isn't that kind of a slap in the face from the group of men who've taken you in?"

"Slap to the face, kick to the head, shot to the leg." Sydney mused.

"Now, normally I would ask what a pretty little girl like you is doing in bed with SAMCRO, but uh… You've got quite the reputation." She grew frustrated quickly when it became apparent that the young woman would be harder to crack than she'd originally thought.

"Oh do I? You're gonna have to fill me in." Sydney scoffed. She knew that her minuscule reputation was nothing of interest to a fed - unless they were working an angle.

"Well, you've been making quite the name for yourself since your daddy died." She mused, hoping for some kind of reaction, but getting no such thing. "You know… Hale's right. You look like a typical club whore, but I don't think that's true. I think you're smarter than that." She squinted.

"Well, I'm sure you have it in your file there." Sydney nodded to the manilla folder between the woman's bony fingers, not daring to break eye contact. "But in case you didn't have a chance to go through all of it yet, I _did_ pass twelfth grade english and as far as I remember, speculation aint exactly a 'reputation'." She winked.

Stahl smirked. She was right, this girl was smart. "Do you know who you're working for?" She pressed on.

"Sure do." Sydney smirked back. "The man who gave me a job."

"That man is a criminal." She sneered, feeling her patience wearing even thinner. The fate of her career was resting on this. "And he puts guns into the hands of _other_ criminals."

"I guess they don't call him the President for nothing." Sydney rasped, shaking her head slowly.

"You make me so proud to be an American." Stahl deadpanned.

Hale looked up from his chair in the waiting room, watching his ally stalking out of the unit briskly. A small part of him wanted to smirk when he saw how angry she looked - knowing that only Sydney was capable of that kind of frustration - but he quickly remembered that they were on the same side here, which meant that her frustration was his frustration.

"What happened?" He asked as he chased her through the halls of the small town medical center.

"We press all the women." She knew that her superior wouldn't sign off on her return to the small town after one cryptic interview, but he would sign off on a RICO case.

* * *

**~Moral check~ Do we think Sydney should've told Tig the truth about Jax? Or we do think she's doing the right thing - that what he doesn't know can't hurt him?**


	53. Come Join The Murder

**Happy Canadian Thanksgiving ️ I'm so thankful for you all😩**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 53: COME JOIN THE MURDER**

"The feds are in there questioning her." Tig paced up and down the ramp outside of the hospital. "I don't like this, Clay."

"We expected this." In less than a day, Clay's plan would be put into motion; everything would be out on the table and everybody would be protected, he just needed Tig to stay calm until then. "She knows what to say. We'll get it all sorted out tomorrow, brother. I promise."

"Yeah… Okay." Tig forced himself to calm down at the request of his President. "How's SAMDINO?"

"Eh…" Clay looked across the lot at the picnic table surrounded by antsy Southern Cali Sons. "Aint happy but… Aint surprised either. Guess they're used to it."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Tig chortled. At least that meant one less phony explanation that he needed to come up with.

"How's she doin?" Clay's tone softened.

"Better today." Tig nodded as he squinted in the sun. "I'm worried though. She's… _fragile._" He tried to find the right word to describe her shaky state. "I don't know how she's gonna feel showin up in a wheelchair with everybody there."

"Whatever she wants, whatever will help - we make it happen." The older man assured him.

Sydney sat on the edge of her hospital bed clothed in a pink velour sweatsuit, staring distantly out the window beyond the small buildings and tall trees as people buzzed around her, clearing out her room. Her final day had whirled past her, leaving her with nothing but dread as Chibs and Half-Sack loaded her belongings into the van while Gemma got her medication from the doctor, and Tig oversaw everything with a watchful eye.

"Where d'you want these when we get to your house?" Half-Sack asked as he hauled the last armful of flower vases out of the room.

Sydney's hollow eyes stared far past him when he entered her field of view, not even doing as little as blinking when he spoke directly to her. He looked nervously to Tig who was standing in the doorway, looking just as concerned.

"Uh." The dark haired man stared at the back of Sydney's head as she stayed silent. "Kitchen's fine." He answered for her, rounding the bed and sitting beside her where he nudged her arm gently. "You okay?" He whispered even though they were the only ones left in the room.

"Yeah." She blinked a few times, shaking her head as she came back to earth at the sound of his voice. "Yeah, just tired." Even after days of resentment and discomfort, she would've given anything to stay another night in that damn room.

"You nervous?"

"Tiggy." She sighed, looking up at him with desperate eyes, silently pleading with him not to press the issue.

"Nah, were not doin this." He shook his head, swiftly reaching over and maneuvering her into his lap expertly. "Tell me, so that I can make it easier for you." He spoke against her neck as he hugged her tight.

"Yes, I'm nervous." She admitted begrudgingly through the small smile that he'd conjured up.

"Why?" He asked gently, but firmly.

"You know why." She rolled her eyes.

He looked up from where she was straddling him with a brow raised, not satisfied with that answer as he shook his head, taking her face in his hands. "Tell me." He looked into her eyes with a depth that made her uncomfortable as she jerked away lightly. "Tell me." He repeated softer, guiding her towards his lips where he kissed her cheek, then the other cheek, then her nose, then each of her eyes until he could see a smile forming on her hardened face.

"I don't want them to look at me differently." She spoke sadly as she avoided his eyes, looking down at her hands which were fiddling with the black shirt that he wore under his kutte. "Everyone's gonna be watching me… Knowing I'm hurt… Looking for weakness… The same thing's gonna happen as before."

"Would it help if you walked?" He figured a limp was much less crippling than a wheelchair.

"I can't walk." She scoffed.

"You were walkin around yesterday." He frowned.

"Not well." She reminded him.

"What if I throw ya over my shoulder? You were okay with that happening before." He grinned, poking her in the ribs as he tried to lighten the mood.

"You might be onto something…" She chortled.

"Hey." He lifted her head so that he could look into her eyes. "You took a bullet for the club, for the _President. _Okay? _Nobody_ is expecting you to walk in there like you didn't."

"That's the problem…"

"We all get hurt… My leg, my ass." He reminded her with a smile. "Nobody thinks anything of it. You being a woman doesn't make that any different unless you think that it does. It's all in your head. You're one of us, okay?"

"Okay." She agreed softly. She wasn't anywhere near convinced, but she appreciated his efforts and surprisingly she'd found some hope to cling to in his pep talk.

"It's not coming." Sydney rolled her eyes as she begrudgingly allowed Gemma to wheel her out to the van where Tig was waiting to take her home.

"Oh yes it is." Gemma nodded as she pressed the button to activate the automatic doors of the ICU. "You need it."

"I don't _need_ it."

"Sydney." Gemma stopped, rounding the wheelchair so that she could face her. "You have a bullet wound and muscle damage that will not heal if you aren't using this." She nudged the metal chair with the toe of her black lace-up heels. "The few minutes of walking everyday that you've been allowed by the doctor is not enough to get you where you need to go."

"Y-you talked to the doctor?" Sydney asked shakily, she should've known that she wouldn't have been able to keep something like this from the matriarch.

"Of course I did." Gemma scowled. "I take that as meaning that you didn't tell Tig?"

"I didn't want him to worry more than he had to..." Sydney looked down, wringing her hands guiltily.

"Well he's gonna be worrying when he's bringing you back here in a few weeks to amputate your leg!"

"I can walk around." She rolled her eyes at Gemma's dramatics. "I just have to be careful about how much for the first few days. As long as I take all my pills and lay low for the next couple of weeks, I'll heal up just fine." She initiated a staredown with the older woman who stood with her lips pursed, contemplating the situation.

"Fine. But just know that I am going to be watching you like a hawk."

"That's been made very clear." She nodded jokingly.

Tig pulled the van into Sydney's driveway after a quiet ride from the hospital. "Happy to be home?" He looked over at her hopefully, placing his hand on her knee.

She nodded, turning away from him as she opened the door and climbed down carefully where she began hobbling up the pathway, gasping in surprise when she felt herself being lifted off of the ground and thrown over Tig's shoulder.

Tig chuckled as he kicked the door open, carrying her through to the kitchen and setting her on the island. "I'm gonna spank that ass if you don't let me take care of it." He growled through gritted teeth with mock-anger before walking to the fridge.

"Don't tempt me with a good time." She smirked, spinning around to face him as she carefully crossed her legs.

"Feel okay?" He nodded to her leg as he slid her a beer and pulled out a joint.

She nodded, gratefully accepting the Corona which she tipped back, downing half of its contents in one gulp, sighing in satisfaction as she set the glass bottle down to the marble countertop.

Tig watched her with a bashful smile, circling his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him where he placed the joint between her lips and lit the end, letting her take a drag before replacing it with a cigarette and lighting that as well.

"Damn." She exhaled, coughing lightly. "What would I do without you looking out for my health." She chuckled, expelling the leftover smoke in her lungs.

"Post-hospital remedy." He winked, placing his hands on her hips as he stood between her legs.

"I'm gonna need it." She scoffed, bringing the cigarette to her lips.

"It'll be okay, baby." He assured her.

"Um." Sydney looked down as she twirled his ring around her thumb, feeling the guilt flooding her when once again; he was doing everything in his power to make things easier for her, and she couldn't even be honest with him. But she knew that this was the only way she would be able to get through today. "There is something you could do… That would help."

"What is it?" He asked eagerly.

"Let me be alone for a bit…" She peeked up through her eyelashes, seeing the concern wash over his face. "I just need to know that I'm okay on my own." She explained before he could protest.

"Sydney..." He shook his head with a sigh.

"Just before church…" She pleaded. "I just need a couple hours while I get ready. It'll help me feel more normal..."

He stared at her for a few seconds before reluctantly agreeing. "Okay. But the prospect will be outside."

"That's okay." She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She pressed her lips against his jaw.

Tig exhaled through his nose and rolled his eyes when he felt his body melting under her touch, as he always had. He wasn't sure if there was anything that he _wouldn't_ do for her - no matter how badly he may not want to.

Half-Sack sat outside of Sydney's house in the van - as per Tig's instructions - furiously gaming away on his Nintendo when he was startled by the piercing ring of his burner.

"Hello?" He scrambled to answer once he saw that it was Sydney calling, jumping out of the vehicle and running up to the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She chuckled.

"Oh." He stopped dead in his tracks, looking over his shoulder and trying to awkwardly play off his panic as he made his way back to the van.

"Tig's coming to get me for church, you can head back."

"Okay." He nodded, snapping his phone shut and getting back into the driver's seat as fast as possible after the embarrassing display that he hoped nobody had seen.

Happy pulled onto the compound, meandering through the maze of bikes and vehicles which he recognized as a combination of SAMCRO, SAMDINO, SAMTAC, and many others. His frustration with the situation had only built after the altercation with Sydney yesterday, he hoped that after this meeting he would finally be able to work some of it out and avenge her the way that she deserved.

"Hey, Hap." Clay greeted with a sympathetic smile, waltzing out from the office where Gemma was gathering the croweaters in preparation for church.

"All those Mayans are dead! Like, a lot!" He was too fired up to respond with anything else.

"I hear ya." Clay nodded. "Why don't you come inside, sit down, and listen to what I got to say, ah? I think I got somethin you'll be more than satisfied with." Happy nodded his strong chin, following the Redwood President into the clubhouse which was now filled with only members - all filing into the chapel.

"Hap." Packer nodded once his eyes landed on the familiarly stoic face, greeting the taller man with a hug. "How's our girl?"

"Okay." He nodded, feeling guilty all over again as he quickly shuffled away before he could be questioned by any of his other San Bernardino brothers.

Clay looked to Tig for an explanation from where he sat at the head of the table in the fully packed room as they waited on Sydney. "Sack's bringin her." Tig explained with disdain for the clumsy prospect.

"Yeah?" Clay raised a brow as he looked out the door at Half-Sack who was hauling beer cases behind the bar.

"What the?" Tig's face contorted when he looked out the doors to see Half-Sack, but no Sydney. "Sack!" The poor kid ran into the chapel, terrified. "Where the hell is Sydney?"

"She uh." He looked around the full room of intimidating men nervously. "She told me you were bringin her."

"What?" Tig shook his head as some of the SAMDINO guys began chuckling at the ordeal that they were all too familiar with.

"Yeah man, look she called me-" He began digging in his pockets for his phone.

Sydney strutted through the doors of the clubhouse as she had every day for the last two months. Her heels against the bar floor echoed in the empty room as she trembled nervously beneath her leather jacket. The choice of tight black jeans and stilettos as she forced her body not to succumb to the limp had her fighting a mind-numbing pain, but she told herself that it was only for a few minutes, and that it would be worth it. It was just like Tig had said, _nobody expected her to walk in there like she hadn't been shot. _Which was why she was determined to do just that.

Tig closed his eyes, exhaling hard through his nose once the unmistakable sound hit his ears. He shook his head, finally opening his eyes and looking up to see her standing in the doorway.

"Sorry. Traffic." She shrugged with a smirk as she brushed her hair over her shoulder, basking in the whoops and hollers that arose from the room filled with men who raced to greet her, thank her, and congratulate her. _This_ was the kind of attention that she wanted; the kind where nobody was fussing over her injury or checking to see if she was okay.

The excitement eventually died down and Sydney was _finally_ able to take her seat - which thankfully Chibs had left her next to Tig. She sat down, looking around the room before she came face to face with Happy. She felt the anger returning as he sat there, stone-faced and staring her down - which she refused to cower under until she felt Tig's hand on her knee, turning her attention back to the man who deserved it.

Clay stared at the gavel as everybody settled and reminded themselves of the deep situation that they were in, preparing his speech that would likely determine the fate of their entire organization. "I know that things have been a little hazy…" He began, taking a deep breath and leaning over the table.

Even though Tig wanted to keep up his charade of mock-frustration over Sydney's recklessness, he knew that even though she masked it well - she had to be in a world of pain. He discreetly offered her his hand under the table, which she took gratefully, squeezing _hard_ as she kept her expression blank.

"Some of you know what's going on, some of you only know what you've been told. I wanna clear all that up." Clay gratefully accepted the nods that came from Jury, Rollie, and Packer. "Couple of months ago… Mayans torched our warehouse - some treaty forged with the Nords behind bars. We found that out when we retaliated - blew their warehouse up in return. Nords laid low after that, Mayans laid lower - only pulling their dicks out when we crossed over into NV." He nodded to the Indian Hills President. "Where shit got confusing was when they showed up in Vegas a few weeks later, standing off with you guys for what seemed like no reason. What you don't know, is that there _was_ a reason."

Sydney's brows creased, looking to Tig who looked just as confused as she did, just as confused as Jax did, just as confused as _everyone_ did. As far as SAMCRO knew, the culprit behind the Mayan intimidation was still unknown.

"We blew up one of their pack shacks right before we drove the guns up to Indian Hills. Now the reason we didn't understand why they were coming after _you_." Clay looked between the two Nevada Presidents. "Was because we left no witnesses, and as far as we knew - nobody else knew about the guns… That turned out to be false." The table was filled with scowls and furrowed brows now.

Jax chewed his lip as Jury crossed his arms, looking at the slimy SAMCRO President with suspicion with multiple other members snuffed out their cigarettes or squinted their eyes in anticipation.

"There was another threat at large: Josh Kohn - an A.T.F. agent who had something personal against the club." He looked directly at Jax. "It was only recently brought to my attention that the threat had been bigger than we thought. He stuck around town for a bit, pissing on our shoes until he decided to up the ante - reaching out to other parties, offering them intel on ways to take us down."

Sydney and Jax shared a glance as the light bulbs went off in their heads. _This_ had been the missing piece of their puzzle all along: Kohn, it all made sense. Only Jax wasn't relieved, he was worried. He felt every organ in his body shift a few inches lower. Clay had known about Kohn the whole time, had known about Tara the whole time, _had known about him keeping this from the club the whole time._

"That threat's been eliminated, but it's what prompted the hit that was supposed to result in my head on a spike - which would've been successful if it weren't for you." Clay nodded thankfully to Sydney, initiating a round of respectful nods and bangs on the table. "Now the reason I've asked you all here… Is because what happened the other night can _never_ happen again." Many of the men nodded, blinked, or grunted their agreement. "Not just somebody tryna off me, but bodies dropping in Charming because of us." He knew that they were in _hot_ water with A.T.F. - Kohn or no Kohn, he couldn't have any more close calls. "Somewhere along the way, the Mayan/Nord deal went bad. Alvarez went after me _and_ Darby - different target, same war. Now if we fire back… We can't stop the blowback from hitting home." Jax nodded along, regardless of Clay's knowledge of Kohn - he fully supported his President choosing the path of least resistance for once.

"Which is why I sat down with Alvarez, and Darby." Clay sighed.

A medley of gasps and questions followed the white-haired man's shocking admittance. "What, just the two of ya?" Tig scowled deeply.

"Where?" Jax questioned.

"Unser's cage. We uh… Discussed our outstanding issues, compared notes, and came to a conclusion."

"What kinda conclusion?" Bobby questioned as he chewed on a peanut shell.

"All Darby wants is to keep cooking his crank north of Charming. Alvarez… Well, he gave me the information, the truth... The truth that we needed to finally understand what was going on, and how to stop it. We have the same common goal: money. So, we sell them guns, they settle all their beefs with all of us." He gestured around the room. "Any territory hassles, any business disputes - it all lands in our favor."

"You made that call without a vote?" Piney drawled.

"I set it up." Clay defended himself against the bitter old man. "We vote on it now." He sat back. "If this thing passes, you all sit down with the Mayans in your own territories and you work shit out - take the win."

"What about Laroy and the Niners?" Juice questioned. "We've had a deal with them for years… That we don't sell guns to the Mexicans."

"Juice, Laroy aint got no loyalty to us." Jax shook his head. "He's been buyin from other dealers, pressing us for discounts - there aint no reason at all that we can't branch out."

Sydney blinked in surprise when Jax so valiantly argued to go _against_ Laroy and risk tripping something with the _other_ Oakland gang. A proud smile came to her face, maybe he _was_ ready to accept his role as Vice President - or maybe he was just kissing Clay's ass.

"The peace we make with the Mayans could start somethin a lot worse with the Niners." Bobby pointed out.

"We'll deal with that fire when it catches." Clay nodded.

"These assholes tried to kill you, man. Almost succeeded in killing her." He nodded to Sydney, scrunching his face in disgust. "We're just supposed to pretend that didn't happen?"

"Yeah." Happy agreed with a piercing black stare, hearing a few other members around him chiming in with the same argument.

"Nah. That debt gets settled." Clay assured Sydney's largest protectors. "But not by us." Tig and Jax's brows both creased. "It's gotta be some outside charter." Clay looked to Happy with his brows raised expectantly. "You up for it Hap?"

Happy felt a sinister grin coming to his face. Clay was right, this solution _was_ satisfying. He nodded firmly with his jaw clenched as he began running through all of the things he was going to do to those filthy Mayans.

"I'll do thi-"

"No." Sydney interrupted him, speaking for the first time since the lengthy meeting had begun. "I do it." She shook her head as she looked at Clay. Tig could feel her grip constricting around his hand as she grew angrier, which rivalled the previous grip she'd had out of pain - and he'd thought _that_ one had been tight.

The reaction earned Sydney more than just a few turned heads, but she didn't care. If this was the only recompense that she could get, she was going to make sure she enjoyed every last drop.

"Makes sense…" Clay shrugged. He was happy to let her have this if she wanted it - it would keep her square and technically, it still fell under Alvarez's guidelines.

"No." Happy argued.

"This is mine." She sneered, whipping her head in his direction.

"They already tried to kill you once." He shook his head. He needed to do _something_ to help the situation that he'd so badly misjudged. He couldn't make amends if she was trying to take what he'd planned on doing to make it up to her. "I'll fix it - make sure it don't ever happen again."

"This isn't your revenge!" She slammed her hands down on the table as he inadvertently belittled her before everybody, staring him down with hardened eyes and a heaving chest. He had taken her revenge once before, and she wasn't going to let it happen again - even if she was bound to a wheelchair.

"Princess still got that temper!" Tank hollered, filling the room with his obnoxiously throaty laugh. Donut glared at the rowdy man who had a notorious reputation for being an instigator - never having been able to understand when to keep his mouth shut.

Sydney's anger turned to a rage that surpassed the point of an outburst. Her fiery gaze switched to the short haired man as she felt herself slowly rising out of her chair, pushing Tig's restraining hand away once he realized what she was doing, ignoring the looks of shock that her boldness was earning her.

"Get out." Her voice was low, level, and cold as ice as she stared him down, watching him squirm with uncertainty.

Tank waited for the punchline, or for her to let up after giving him a fright like she always did, but it never came. His forehead creased when he realized that she was being serious. "You sure that bullet went to your leg, and not your brain?" He scoffed. There was no way that the little SAMDINO princess was trying to kick _him_ \- a patched member - out of a meeting with the mother charter. Who the hell did she think she was, thinking she would be able to get away with something like this?

"You heard her." Clay's gravely voice traveled the table as his eyes stayed fixed on the gavel.

"What?" Tank exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Get out!" Clay yelled, looking up at the fuming San Bernardino Son.

Sydney had no idea what she'd actually expected to happen, but she was shocked when Clay backed the bold move that could've easily been seen as a blatant disregard for the rules of hierarchy. She felt a rush of power as she turned her body slowly as Tank made his way around the table, staring him down with a hardened expression as he exited the chapel.

She was surprised by the Redwood charter - they had uncovered the madness and gotten everything sorted out in her absence, wrapping tightly with a nice shiny bow for her return - which they seemed to have no problem in waiting for while they honoured her requests during her recovery to a T. Not only was it now clear that they trusted in her judgment, but they valued her opinion_._ Maybe Tig was right, maybe she _was_ one of them.

Sydney slowly retook her seat, glancing around the room with warning for anybody else who felt like testing her. This was _her_ territory now, and nobody disrespected her on her home turf.

Clay nodded to Happy once she was seated, who was sitting with his eyes wide, nodding back to the SAMCRO President before backing off, leaning back in his chair.

"You okay with all this?" Clay looked to Sydney for confirmation before he called the vote.

Sydney nodded curtly. She hadn't thought at all about retaliation while she'd been at the hospital because she'd known that something larger had to be at play. But now that everything was clear, she was satisfied that this was the smartest solution to keep all parties in the black.

"What do you want me to do with Laroy?" She had no problem with the decision to cross the sleazy gangster, but she _was _their broker after all.

"Cameron's gonna be gettin back to us about Hefner later tonight. We should have the guns soon enough, keep him happy until he aint happy anymore." Clay suggested with a shrug to which she nodded her agreement. "Alright." He exhaled, addressing the whole room again as his eyes wandered over the leather-covered bodies. "All in favor of the Mayan deal?" He proposed.

Tig turned the charms on the chain around his neck, between his fingers - focusing solely on the feeling of the smooth heart and jagged spiral to keep _himself_ from spiralling. He didn't feel that the resolution was nearly restitution enough for this kind of act, and the fact that Sydney was on the receiving end of it only weighed his dissatisfaction that more, but if this was what she and Clay wanted, he would have to oblige. He raised his hand, following his President in sync with Jax, which was then followed by Happy, then Bobby, then Chibs, until every arm around the table was raised - every arm except Sydney's.

Clay looked to her with a nod, blinking his blessing as he waited for her arm to join the masses where it belonged, but she responded with a simple shake of her head. She would vote alongside her brothers one day, but when she did, it would be with a reaper on her back.

* * *

**Song for this chapter:**

_**Finish Line - SATV Music**_


	54. Stitches

**FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER. Sorry for the late update 😩**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 54: STITCHES**

Sydney had _vastly_ overestimated her ability to handle the pain that her stunt had inflicted. She thought that she would've been able to make it through the party if she spent most of the evening seated, but as the adrenaline pumped through her veins, each pulse shot an excruciating pain straight to her leg. She grit her teeth as she accepted the round of hugs and niceties from the people that she used to call her family as the chapel began to clear out, filling the empty bar as the croweaters, women, and children began to rejoin the mix - finally providing her with an opportunity to slip away under the guise that she needed to get home and take her medication before the celebration was to begin.

She let out a breathy cry the second that her car door slammed, hyperventilating as she gripped the steering wheel. She ripped the gear shift into reverse, focusing on nothing other than the end that was in sight as she ground her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, sucking in a deep breath as her car began rolling backwards. She only needed to stay strong for a few seconds longer…

"You're not driving." She jumped at the sound of the muffled, but commanding voice - slamming on the brakes as her eyes flew open to see the halo of dark curls. She had to physically hold back the groan that formed in the back of her throat, rolling down her window and looking right past Tig who was standing with his arms crossed, at the hoards of bikers who were only a few feet away - surely waiting to see her next move.

"You're not driving my car out of here..." She shook her head. There was no way that she was going to show any sign of weakness now, not after all the work she'd put into appearing strong.

"Alright. Then you're stopping down the street and we're switching." He shrugged, rounding her vehicle and opening the passenger door before she could protest.

"R-really?" She asked in a mix of surprise, and guilt.

"Yup. Let's go." He nodded.

Sydney winced as she put in the clutch, shifting into gear and peeling out of the lot before swerving onto a sidestreet and pulling up the parking brake, finally letting out the breath that she'd been holding the entire time.

Tig shook his head, jumping out and pulling her door open, lifting her into his arms and carrying her back around the car where he set her into the passenger seat and closed the door without a word, driving back just as silently while she stared ahead distantly. If being in pain couldn't put her in her place, Tig helping her act like she wasn't, definitely would.

"Thank you…" She whispered as they pulled into the driveway.

"Oh no problem, babe. After all, it's your world, I'm just livin in it." He mused.

"You're so dramatic." She felt a devious smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she rolled her eyes and pushed her door open, finding a comforting distraction in their familiar banter.

"Oh, you wanna talk about dramatic?" Tig's eyes widened as she turned away from him, opening his own door and speaking over the roof as she tried to ignore him. "_Dramatic_ is putting yourself in the pain that I _know_ you're feeling right now, for what?" He lectured her as he rounded the car, following her up the steps until she turned to face him at the door.

"You said that nobody expected me to walk in there." She looked up at him with an innocent shrug.

"You know that wasn't what I meant..." He groaned.

"Well you should've specified." She smirked as she unlocked the door and crossed the threshold.

"You are such-" He lifted her over his shoulder again, kicking the door shut behind him. "A pain in my ass."

"I'm a pain in my own ass too, apparently." She chuckled as he eased her down to the couch where she winced, looking down at her denim covered leg which was swelling in the constricting material. "I need to change…"

"So, that was your big idea? Put yourself through hell for the rest of the day?" He gestured to her leg, waving his hands in frustration once he saw the damage she was doing to herself.

"Pretty much." She smiled sarcastically.

"Real smart Syd… Gonna pretend you're fine when we go back to the clubhouse? Put on another tight outfit and walk around like nothing's wrong, so that I get to deal with this as soon as you take your bow and leave the stage?"

Sydney felt her face falling and her emotions building as his rant continued, her guard coming crashing down when the words left his lips… _So that I get to deal with this_.

"Don't fucking deal with it then!" She grabbed the first thing in arms reach - a crystal ashtray - and whipped it at the wall behind him, rushing to her feet as the glass shattered and stomping up the stairs to her bedroom with no regard for the pain in her leg as the pain in her heart took over. She was a burden to him, just like she was to Happy.

Tig stood in the same spot in the middle of the room with his eyes wide in shock, grimacing when he heard her slam the door. To say that he was stunned was an understatement, just minutes ago they had been joking around, but clearly something about his scolding had struck a chord, and now he felt horrible - not just because he knew that the outburst would cause her more pain than she was already in, but because he'd spent days trying to make her feel better, the absolute last thing he'd wanted to do was make her feel worse.

The tears started pouring down Sydney's face the second that the door slammed behind her. She kicked her heels off angrily and rushed over to her bed where she buried her face into a pillow, muffling the high pitched sobs that left her lips as she smacked her fist against the mattress and clutched the sheets in agony. She soon realized that she'd been fortunate during the time that her emotional pain had cancelled out her physical pain, because now she was feeling the excruciating effects of both.

Tig sat on the couch with his head in his hands, tapping his foot anxiously as he watched the clock ticking. He'd cleaned up the remnants of the broken ashtray and now found himself chainsmoking as he ran through all of the reasons why Sydney of all people, would've possibly gotten so upset over what he'd said. He stamped his cigarette out in the makeshift ashtray he'd fastened from an empty beer bottle, deciding as the two hour mark approached that he couldn't give her any more space - he needed to make sure that she was okay.

Sydney sat on the edge of her bed in a haze, staring blankly at the wall with puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. She heard the sound of somebody coming up the stairs, and despite thinking that Tig had left hours ago, she didn't flinch as her body buzzed with a cold numbness.

Tig knocked softly before he pushed the door open, frowning when he saw her sitting with her back to him. "Hey…" He greeted her gently as he tentatively made his way over and sat next to her on the bed. "Baby…" He whispered when he noticed that she was _still_ wearing the tight pants that had started this argument in the first place. "What the hell are you doin to yourself?" He whispered painfully, getting no response. "You need to get out of these." He tried again, reaching over and brushing the back of his hand over her knee.

"I'm fine." She pushed his hand away, turning her head further away from him.

"Sydney…" He felt his heart shrinking in his chest. "I'm sorry… I wasn't trying to be a dick. I just..." He groaned deep in his throat as he unsuccessfully tried to put his thoughts into words. "Look, I'm trying here. Okay? I really am."

"I know you are." She nodded.

"But… When I see you hurting yourself for us..." He shook his head sorrowfully.

"It's not for you." She whispered shakily.

"Why does this matter so much to you?" He asked incredulously, but carefully - he didn't understand, but he wanted to.

"You were there." She whipped her head around impatiently. "You saw. They don't take me seriously."

"Yeah I saw…" He nodded. "I saw you put that pussy right in his place. I saw everybody else in that room look at you with respect. I saw my brothers listening to what you had to say. That's what I saw… The same shit Hap's been seeing for years-"

"Happy came to see me in the hospital." She cut him off, looking down at her lap. " When you were at the clubhouse… Had a nice chat about what a burden I was to him, and how I'm your problem now. So no, you didn't see what Hap's been seeing for years, because he's been seeing the same thing that they do." She felt her averted eyes filling with angry tears.

"What?" Tig shook his head in shock. "Hap loves you, baby… More than I've ever seen him love anything. He'd never think that… Never say that."

"You're right." She scoffed. "He would never use that many words at once." She cracked a small smile.

Tig snorted at her joke before falling back into disbelief. He knew that there had to be more to the story, and that missing information could only come from the Tacoma Killer himself. He knew that Happy didn't appreciate his nose in his business on a good day, but for Sydney? He would do whatever he needed to in order to help her move past this - even if it meant a black eye or two.

"I wish you would tell me these things…" He spoke sadly.

"Why? So you can go and talk to him, throw a few punches and force him to take it back?" She asked incredulously.

"No." He stated firmly, but unconvincingly. "Because I wouldn't have hurt your feelings by saying something fucking stupid like that."

"I'm sure you would've found something else stupid to say." She gave a watery chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood. She'd had enough emotion in the last few days, to last her a lifetime.

"Yeah." He chortled. "Probably." He nodded with a bashful smile. "Come here." He pulled her into his lap where he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back as he buried his nose in her hair. "You could never be a burden to me…"

Sydney nodded, returning his embrace. She squeezed a little tighter in response to his statement about her not being a burden, not having the emotional strength to answer him verbally.

"Let's get you out of these." He patted her leg. "And into something that won't hurt so bad when you're struttin around later." He winked.

"Tiggy…" She looked away from his hopeful gaze. "I don't wanna go to the party."

Tig frowned, running his hands down her arms. "You didn't let big bad Tigger ruin it for you, did ya?" He leant down to catch her eyes.

"No." She smiled, feeling a warm blush coming to her cheeks once those playful blue eyes came into view. "I never really wanted to go…" She had previously planned on going, yes. But it wasn't because she'd wanted to, it was because she'd felt the need to prove a point - a point that had already been proven at the expense of her sanity.

"How come?" He asked with more care than Sydney felt like she deserved, staying silent as her eyes shifted away from his again.

"Well… I want you there with me." He tried to cheer her up, bringing his hands up her body and to her face where his thumbs rubbed circles over her cheekbones before he pressed his lips to her temple. "We can makeout under the stars, and I'll drive so you can drink as much as you want. I won't even bet on the fights… You can do all my gambling tonight, baby." He moved his lips to her jaw as he tried to persuade her. "And I'll even let you win at poker..." He smirked against her neck.

"I was gonna win." She scoffed.

"Nu-uh…" He nuzzled her neck with a smile. "You're lucky we never got to finish… I had so many blow jobs stacked up." He groaned.

"You had two, and you were losing." She rolled her eyes.

"Was not!" He recoiled with a scowl.

"Was to!" She argued back playfully until they both started laughing.

"Come on, doll… I wanted to show you off to all your old boy toys… Show them that you settled for a real man." He winked with a grin.

"Tig…" Sydney shook her head regretfully. Under _any_ other circumstances, his lips on her neck and the prospect of him spending the evening parading her around would've been more than enough to convince her to do just about anything, but she couldn't - not while _they_ were there. "It's not good for me to be around them right now…"

"Okay." He relented, noting by how stiff she'd become in his grasp that this was much more to her than just spending an evening at the clubhouse. "Okay, we'll stay."

"No." She shook her head. "You go… Find out what's happening with Hefner and the guns."

"Syd-"

"Go." She pleaded before he could protest, bringing her hands to his face. "Bring me home something to look forward to."

"I'm not staying long…" He bargained.

"That's okay… I'll be here." She replied pitifully as she slid off of his lap.

"You're getting out of this shit before I leave." He pulled at her jacket and nudged her knee, grateful for her nod before she pulled her arms behind her back so that he could help her shimmy out of the tight leather coat.

"Gonna hurt?" He winced as he looked down at her leg.

"It feels okay right now…" She didn't know if the pain had actually subsided, or if her dreary mental state had just dulled it. But what she did know was that the more he paid attention to it, the more uncomfortable she got.

"It looks less swollen." He tried to point out optimistically as she cowered under his gaze.

"Yeah." She nodded weakly.

"Baby, I don't wanna leave you like this…" He shook his head as he grimaced. He hated to see her so down, and he hated even more to think that he was part of the reason.

"I'll be fine." She leant back so that he could pull off the restricting bottoms and she could get out of his penetrating gaze.

Tig winced when she brushed him off, his expression souring further as he began tugging on the denim, watching her face contort in discomfort. He tried his best to wiggle the pants down her legs as gently and as quickly as possible. "Okay?" He asked as he knelt to the ground in front of her, lifting her legs slightly so that he could remove the offending garment completely.

Sydney nodded with her eyes squeezed shut as she held onto her breath - which Tig took as a sign to finish the job quickly, rubbing her feet as soon as her legs were bare, stroking small circles over her ankles to help ease the pain.

The discomfort began to wash away as Tig worked her muscles expertly, slowly exhaling the breath she'd been holding as she regained her composure. She didn't dare open her eyes though, she didn't want to look at it - didn't want to look at _him_ looking at it. All she wanted to do was to get under the covers and stay there for the rest of the night where he couldn't look at her with pity any longer.

Tig could feel the tension melting from her body slowly under his rolling digits. He looked up to gauge her reaction, but was distracted but the obstructive view of her white lacey panties teasing his dilating eyes. His mind quickly began to wander to a potentially better idea - and his hands followed, stroking up the smooth skin of her legs.

Sydney flinched at the sudden change of pace, her discomfort being replaced by a feeling of unexpected arousal. She peered down at him tentatively, seeing his lust coated eyes looking right back up at her before he pushed himself to his feet and immediately attached his lips to hers in a sensual kiss, his arm circling her waist to pull her against him. She kissed him back, a flurry of need taking over her as she pressed herself against his chest, pulling at his kutte with one hand and at her own shirt with the other, only separating from his lips when she felt his hands gathering her shirt at her waist, pulling it over her head before their lips joined again.

Tig dragged his calloused hands across the buttery skin of her torso as their tongues battled for dominance. He pulled away as she began pawing at his shirt more rapidly, moving his lips to her neck as he dragged his hands down her sides, feeling her tensing the closer that he got to the injury site. "I'm gonna try something. Okay?" He mumbled against her neck as he began guiding her backwards, feeling her stiffen like a board in his hands as she stayed silent.

He forced himself not to cringe when he felt her trembling nervously under his grip, bringing his hands back up to her face where he stroked her jaw tenderly. "Do you trust me?" He asked gently.

Sydney hesitated on instinct before remembering where she was, and who she was with. If there was anybody who could make her feel better right now… It was Tig. She nodded weakly, forcing her muscles to relax as she focused on the comfort of his scent and the familiarity of his hands.

"If it hurts, or you want me to stop - you tell me." He nodded, staring into her eyes with an understanding sincerity that she wished wasn't necessary as she nodded again.

Tig kissed her lips lightly before kissing her cheek, then her jaw, then her neck, letting his lips linger a little longer in each spot to get her warmed up as his hands travelled down to her hips. "I love you." He whispered as he slid onto his knees on the floor in front of her.

"I love you too." She whispered meekly as his eyes returned to her vulnerable body.

"Keep your hands here, okay?" He took her hands in his gently, kissing her palms, then each of her knuckles before placing them beside her on the bed. His hands returned to her sides, sliding down to her hips where he gently pulled her to the edge of the bed.

"This okay?" He asked with his lips on her thigh, inhaling her sweet scent as he squeezed her hips lightly to let her know that his hands wouldn't be going any lower.

Sydney nodded, exhaling shakily as the sound of his tender voice calmed her racing heart. "It's okay baby." He mumbled as his lips travelled up her thigh, talking to her soothingly once he felt the effect that his voice was having on her. "I'm gonna fix it." He placed a gentle kiss to one of her hip bones, dragging his mouth across to the other where he did the same.

Sydney felt her heart speeding back up again as tears pricked at her eyes over his choice of words. _I'm gonna fix it. _A simple phrase - but it just so happened to be the simple phrase that Happy had always told her growing up. She let her eyelids fall, trying to focus on the feeling of Tig's lips on her, but it only amplified how foreign she felt in her own skin. The frustration began crawling through her, creeping up her neck and pushing the loose tears out of the corners of her eyes.

"You want me to stop?" Tig looked up, rubbing soft circles over her hips while he waited patiently for an answer.

"No." She choked out in a muffled sob, wiping frustratedly at her eyes. She inhaled deeply as she refocused herself, letting the air cleanse her lungs as she felt the patterns that he was rubbing into her skin getting less and less gentle, relaxing the tightened muscles. "No." She repeated more certainly, looking down to meet his waiting eyes.

Tig accepted her answer, letting his fingers dig deeper into the plush skin around her hips as he slowly massaged the muscles around her pelvis that had been lying dormant since the shooting.

Sydney sighed when she felt the tension leaving not only her body, but her mind - parting her lips as her long breaths turned to light moaning and her legs fell open wider.

"That helpin, baby?" Tig grinned as he felt her body begin to relax, just as he had hoped.

"Yes." She hummed as a shiver ran up her spine, arching her back up towards him which served as his cue to move onto the next step, dragging his thumb down towards the dainty lace as his fingers remained kneading her skin. He traced his digit along the waistband, looping his thumb under the scrap of lace and pulling it aside.

"What about this?" He asked as his mouth hovered over her clit before he wrapped his lips around it and suckled gently, listening to the long, low moan leave her lips.

"Yes." She whined while she tried to catch her breath. The way that her body was so calm on the outside but so spastic on the inside had her experiencing a sensational pleasure that she'd never felt before.

Tig was thrilled that his on the fly plan had worked, but that had only been the beginning. He knew that she was uncomfortable and embarrassed, and he wasn't lying when he said that he was going to fix it - but it was going to be in a way that she would never expect.

Sydney moaned wildly as he continued licking her while his fingers worked her pelvic muscles. His tongue was perfect on her lower lips; soft, but firm - fast, but slow. On any other day she would've been a squirming mess, but her body wouldn't let her - keeping her confined to the euphoric limpness until he brought her to a climax that had her squealing and seeing stars while she laid completely still.

"Look at you…" He rasped as he lifted his head from between her legs, dragging his hands up her sides and then back down, trailing between her legs where he spread them open to see her glistening. "How am I supposed to _not_ fuck you?" He mused animalistically.

"You could…" She looked up at him innocently, slowly dragging her hands up her buzzing body and resting them over her tits. She knew that he was still weary about hurting her, but she didn't care - nothing could hurt more than how she'd felt in the last week.

"Yeah…" Tig almost gave in, but her sinful body language was the only thing that kept him on track. "Yeah, I could." He leaned down, hovering over her as he held her jaw and pushed his tongue into her mouth before pulling away. "But I got a better idea." He smirked, winking before he disappeared into the closet and returned with a red leather box.

"W-what are you doing?" Sydney sat up in a panic but was quickly reminded of the effect he'd had on her body, leaning back on her elbows as she felt her face getting hot when he returned with _the box_ \- the box that he wasn't supposed to know about.

"You think I don't know what's in here?" He raised a brow and smirked deviously as he stood over where she was laying completely exposed.

Sydney felt her entire body ignite with both embarrassment and excitement as she watched him open the lid and scan her selection of sex toys. She didn't mind him knowing that she had them - in fact, she had planned on showing them to him one day, herself - but today was not that day.

Tig felt his dick twitching with excitement as he looked over the various pink and purple items strewn about the box, forcing himself to stay on task as he fished out the small pink vibrator and turned his attention back to where she was looking up at him with glossy eyes and red cheeks.

"Don't be shy now, angel." He leant down, brushing her hair back as his thumb stroked her lips. "Open." He ordered, sliding his fingers into her hot mouth before replacing them with the vibrator, watching as she wrapped her lips around it.

Sydney had to give it to him. He had found the perfect way to restore her confidence and give her back the power that she needed. Her deviance took over instantly - holding his eyes with a seductive gaze, silently begging for his next order.

"Keep doin that…" He husked as he held the toy in her mouth with one hand and placed the other over his crotch as he watched her cheeks hollow as she sucked it into her mouth until her lips reached his fingers, pulling back before repeating the action.

Tig couldn't take it any more as his erection strained against the zipper of his jeans. He hadn't expected her to warm up to the idea so quickly - nixing the time that he had originally allotted for his own arousal to diminish, now he was worrying that he was going to fall victim to his own plan.

"Touch yourself." He pulled the toy out of her mouth abruptly, placing it in her hand and rushing to his feet where he ripped his belt buckle open, his eyes rolling back as he finally felt some relief.

Sydney smirked up at where he stood with his eyes closed, dragging her foot over his crotch as she turned the vibrator on to the first speed and moaned the second that the toy touched her sensitive clit.

Tig's eyes flew open when he felt her touching him, looking down to see her touching herself. "Fucking Christ…" He groaned. Yes, this had been a _very_ bad idea.

"You like that, Tiggy?" She grinned as she laid back down, biting her lip as she leveraged herself against her foot on his crotch and arched her back, palming her tits with her free hand.

"Yes." He choked out, gripping her calf harshly as he lowered her back down to the bed, but couldn't bring himself to let go - resting her leg against his chest as his other hand pulled his zipper down. "Yeah, baby…"

Sydney felt herself getting more and more turned on as he got closer to giving her what she so desperately wanted. She threw her head back and moaned as she turned the speed up, dragging her foot down his thigh in an effort to get his pants off.

Tig looked down as she dragged his jeans further down his legs, abandoning his self control as she continued to prompt him. He yanked his boxers down and took his rock-hard dick into his hand, stroking himself slowly as he watched her. "This what you wanted?" He nodded.

"Mhmm." She moaned with an evil smile. Watching him jerking off at the sight of her had her need for him building stronger and stronger, feeling herself beginning to pulsate.

Tig's eyes fluttered as he began feeling the heat emanating from her as she got more and more worked up. He swiped the vibrator, weaving his hand into her hair and bringing his mouth down on hers fiercely as he ripped her panties down and pressed the toy against her clit, alternation between massaging her and pushing it inside of her before turning it off and pulling her up the bed where he laid next to her, bringing her injured leg overtop of his.

Sydney's chest heaved as she gripped his curls and yanked him back to her lips as she ground her pelvis against him, feeling his cock rubbing through her folds.

Tig wanted so badly to take her the way that she was silently begging him to, but he knew that the crucial part of his plan was to make her feel like she won - like she'd earned it. And that was what he was going to do. He opted for the non verbal response instead - pulling her back and kissing her neck harshly. If he couldn't show everybody that she was his, he was going to make sure that they knew another way.

Sydney knew what he was doing, marking her so fiercely - and two could play at that game. She pushed him back, attaching her lips to his neck where she bit and licked at the skin. "Fuck me, Tiggy…" She cooed, pushing her tongue inside of his mouth as she moaned, moving back to his neck which was now heavily marked, just as hers was.

"Careful, Princess." He warned in a low growl.

"But I need you…" She pouted, stroking his jaw as she looked at him innocently with her lip between her teeth. "No one could ever fuck me as good as you do… No one ever has… And no one ever will."

"Yeah, I know they won't, baby." He held her face in his hand with his lips teasing hers, absorbing her gasp as he quickly shoved the vibrator back against her clit. "Cause I aint ever letting you go… But you better behave before you get us both into trouble, because you know that once I start with you, I can't stop." His lips were against her ear as he spoke the deliciously irresistible but threatening words in such a soft tone, his hot breath sending shivers through her.

"But I don't want you to stop…" She jutted her lips out, looking up at him pleadingly. She grinded against his cock, bringing her pelvis back against his.

Tig didn't respond, turning off the vibrator and staring her down as he waited to see what her next move would be.

"You got me all wet… Don't you wanna use me?" She managed to smoothly position herself so that he was sitting poised at her entrance, slicking the tip of his dick in her wetness.

Tig tensed, holding back the shiver that travelled down his cock and up his chest, still staying silent as he peered down to where their bodies were sinfully pressed against one another - moving his hand down to her ass.

Sydney smirked, taking this as her sign to continue. She rocked her hips towards his, slowly feeling him easing inside of her at the unfamiliar angle. She hummed in content as she felt him slowly filling her, leaning up and kissing him as passionately as she'd ever kissed a man before, twirling her tongue around his until she finally got what she was after: the inadvertent thrust of his hips. She moaned into his mouth, grinning as she caressed his neck.

Tig growled in frustration. Even when his plan was tailored around letting her win, she _still_ managed to pull the rug out from under his feet quicker than he could jump. He began to pull out, listening to her moan before she surprised him again by thrusting herself against him this time, squeezing her inner walls around him so that he couldn't retreat - milking his dick for all it was worth.

"Hey." He smacked her ass and gripped it tightly as he grit his teeth. "None of that."

"Why not?" She asked innocently, looking at him with those glossy eyes before suckling his neck lightly as she smoothed her hand up his chest and continued to rock against his dick. "Is it turning you on?"

"No." He lied unconvincingly, pulling away from her greedy lips. "What would turn me on, is if you fucking listened." He spanked her again before taking back control and thrusting hard into her, stilling himself once he bottomed out. This was no longer a matter of letting her feel like she'd won - she already had. No matter how hard he tried to focus on staying within his dominant role, all he could think about was how unbelievably hot she was on his dick and panting against his neck - throwing gripping into the mix had sealed his fate as a dead man.

"Doesn't feel like you're not turned on…" She squeezed him inside of her again, rolling her head back with a low moan. "I can't help it Tiggy… You're just so big in my tight little pussy..." She whined, spurring him on as best she could - which wasn't hard as he finally gave in, turning the vibrator back on as he pulled back slowly - stopping so that the head of his cock massaged her g-spot while the pink bullet buzzed rapidly over her clit, a combination that had her quivering in seconds.

Tig smirked once he felt her walls shuddering around the tip of his dick, tossing the vibrator away and grabbing her ass to pull her against him harshly where he finally let himself go, fucking her through her orgasm until he felt her squirting around his cock as her arousal coated his thighs, easily bringing him to his own release.

Sydney felt her mind go blank, blacking out to the sound of her own screams as she clutched his shoulders, digging her nails into the leather of his kutte. She came back to earth a few minutes later, flinching when she felt something between her legs but instantly relaxing as a warm sensation took over, looking down to see Tig cleaning her up with a wet washcloth.

"Like that too?" He chuckled when she sighed in content.

"Mhmm." She hummed with a lazy smile as she sloppily nodded her heavy head.

"Bet you do, you damn whore." He winked, leaning down to kiss her.

"You like it." She smirked against his lips.

"You keep me on my toes, that's for sure." He scoffed. "Soon I'm gonna have you doin that every time…" He smirked as he looked down between her legs.

"You wish." She scoffed, rolling her eyes as he teased her.

"You're gettin easier." He pointed out with a cocky grin. "And I got way more things in that box to try out." He winked.

"Shut up." A bashful smile graced her lips, turning to hide her reddening face in the pillow.

"Nah, nah. Come here." He laughed, rolling her back over to where he could see her. Come on." He nodded for her to sit up. "Let's get you dressed."

"I can get dressed on my own." She laughed as he pulled her up. "Go, keep Cheryl company." She winked.

"Cheryl aint around anymore." He stated firmly, avoiding her eyes as he turned towards her closet.

Sydney's brows furrowed in confusion. Cheryl's entire _life _was about being a croweater, there was no way she would willingly leave - but she didn't press the topic any further, the farther away that rancid slut was from her boys, the better.

Tig returned with some pyjamas shorts and one of his shirts that he found stuffed in Sydney's dresser - a sight that made him smile - helping her into the loose garments silently before he slid his hands under her arms and lifted her from the bed.

"What're you doing?" Her forehead creased.

"Bringing you downstairs." He stated as he approached the staircase.

"I don't wanna go downstairs." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't care." He mused with wide eyes, shaking his head as he descended the carpeted stairs and brought her into the living room, setting her down on the couch where he began gathering pillows and blankets.

"I'm just gonna go upstairs after you leave." She rolled her eyes again.

"Come on babe… Let me have a little peace of mind." He groaned.

"Fine." Sydney chortled, making a show out of getting herself comfortable on the couch before she caught a glimpse of the end table, looking empty without the ashtray that she'd shattered during her fit of rage. "I liked that ashtray." She pouted.

"Gonna have to change my flash to 'custodian'" Tig chuckled.

"Sorry…" She apologized bashfully, blushing when she realized that this wasn't the first time this week that he'd had to clean up broken glass because of her.

"It's okay." He smirked, leaning down and kissing her lips briefly. "I'm just glad you didn't hit me with it." He winked, pulling away and moving to the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?"

"Nothing." Sydney sighed dramatically as she held back _another_ eyeroll. "Will you please just go?" She asked impatiently.

"No." He matched her mocking tone, crossing his arms and walking over to the couch, sitting next to her where they stared each other down until they both began to crack, crooked smiles forming on their faces as they fought off laughter.

"I just wanna know that you're gonna be okay…" He said sincerely once they composed themselves.

"I'm okay now." She assured him, and she meant it. She knew that some discomfort would likely creep its way back in once he left, but she could live with it after the way he'd made her feel like herself again.

"You're not just telling me that? Not gonna crack when I leave? Break another flower vase? Throw another ashtray?"

Sydney inhaled theatrically, smiling as she squinted and shook her head. "You know, one day I'm gonna get tired of you getting in my head." She chortled.

"I know." Tig smiled, leaning into her lips. "But not to today." He winked.

"Not today." She repeated with a smile of her own, pressing her lips to his in a sweet kiss.


	55. Scar Tissue

**Thank you for the reviews lately! They absolutely make my day. Also, I'm going to have Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chilli Peppers stuck in my head for weeks :)))**

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 55: SCAR TISSUE**

Tig arrived back at the clubhouse just as it began to get dark, having to opt for street parking since the compound was filled to the brim with the club and all of their associates. He frowned as he pulled off his helmet and hung it over the handlebars, his heavy feet carrying him closer to the noisy party.

Gemma was weaving her way through the crowd with a hot tray of barbeque wings from the kitchen when she saw Tig moseying dismally through the gates. She frowned, although she was happy to see that Sydney was at home resting rather than carrying on her reckless streak, she hated to see Tig looking so lost - a look that she hadn't seen on him in a long time. The matriarch passed the aluminum container off onto a croweater, making her way over to the lonely Sergeant.

"Hey, baby." She placed her hand on his shoulder, rolling her fingers over the tense muscles. "You okay?"

"Oh, hey Gem." Tig pulled himself from his pity-party, hugging his friend. "I'm okay." He assured her unconvincingly as he avoided her invasive gaze, scanning the compound for Clay who he found sitting at a long table with the rest of SAMCRO.

"Um." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you think you could go check on Syd? Maybe bring her some dinner? She wouldn't eat earlier and I-"

"Sure." Gemma cut him off with a nod, letting him know that he didn't need to explain his concern as she patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Thanks." Tig smiled, handing her his keys and kissing her on the cheek before heading over to where his club was waiting for him.

Sydney scowled when she heard the lock jiggling on her front door from where she sat on the couch. She'd decided that Tig had earned himself some peace of mind - and going back up the stairs was far more work than she could muster up the strength for - but she hadn't expected him to have been home quite literally minutes after he'd left.

"Babe?" She called once she heard the door open and somebody step inside. She began to panic when she got no answer, realizing that she was nowhere near any weapons and was in no position to defend herself if needed. She took a deep breath, slowing her racing heart as she leant down and began to slink off of the couch quietly as footsteps began to approach.

"Just me." Gemma came into view with a friendly smile on her face as she brandished a plate of food.

"Jesus." Sydney exhaled, slapping her hand over her heart. "You scared the shit out of me." She laughed nervously as she pushed herself back up onto the couch.

"Uh huh…" Gemma raised a brow as she looked down at the younger woman. "What exactly were you planning on doing?" She nodded to where Sydney had been crouched on the floor.

"_Improvising_." Sydney rasped theatrically with a playful smile. "Tig sent you?" She guessed, her tone falling flat as she nodded at his keys which were dangling from her slender fingers.

Gemma nodded with a smile. "I have not seen that man this in love since he was struggling to grow a beard." She laughed, setting the plate of ribs and potato salad down on the table.

"I think you're confusing love with compensation." Sydney scoffed. The voice in the back of her head had her completely looking past the sweet gesture, all she could see was that he didn't think she could function on her own for more than twenty minutes, and she knew the weight that a burden like that could hold on a man in this life.

"Sweetheart…" Gemma sighed, sitting next to her and looking into her eyes. "Men like Tig do well when they have something to protect; something to drive them. That's why he's the Sergeant - it's his job."

"Something to protect… Not a reminder of something that he _couldn't _protect." She stated sadly, staring at the dark haired woman with a hollowness behind her eyes.

Gemma frowned. She knew what Sydney was getting at, but she also knew that it was a point supported solely by insecurity and clouded judgment. She thought back to what she had told Sydney before the shooting, about the conversation that she needed to have with Tig about this very issue: security.

"You talk to him like I said?" Sydney nodded wearily, knowing where this conversation was going - and it didn't involve her winning.

Gemma's eyes widened in surprise. "Good." She blinked with a snort, impressed that the unconventional couple was _actually_ taking her advice. "Best to do it when you have no choice - can't fuck your problems away." She smirked knowingly.

"Yeah." Sydney scoffed.

Gemma's brows furrowed before she caught on, her dark eyes falling to the bruising peeking out from the neckline of the oversized t-shirt that she was wearing. "Jesus." She winced.

Tig sat adjacent to Clay at the table, as the Sergeant always did, but tonight he didn't feel like the Sergeant. Without Sydney by his side - or on his lap, rather - he was being constantly reminded of the reality of the situation, and he wasn't happy about it. He kept his heavy eyes down while he twirled his beer bottle around while everybody watched Donut and Tank go at it in the ring, his gaze falling to his middle finger which was empty without the silver cross that it was usually adorned with. He took a deep breath, closing his hand over the gold heart hanging around his neck, pushing the dark thoughts into the back of his mind where they belonged.

"You good?" Happy rasped from across the table, looking at Tig with a creased brow as his eyes fell to where he was clutching his necklace the same way that he was used to seeing Sydney do.

Tig's eyes shot up once he realized the attention was on him, but he didn't see his brothers, he saw Gemma standing off in the distance, nodding to him with a smile. "Yeah." He answered distantly as he returned her smile. "Yeah, I'm here." He shook his head, refocusing as he redirected his attention to where it was supposed to be.

Sydney expelled a long, slow breath once she was finally alone again, making herself comfortable as she peeled the foil off of the still hot plate of good when she heard the front door opening again. She felt her insides freeze in frustration this time instead of fear. "Hello?" She called impatiently, getting no reply. _Now_ she froze with fear, feeling her heart sink for what felt like the hundredth time today. She knew what the silence meant: Happy.

"Hey there, little lady." Packer smiled as he rounded the corner.

Sydney exhaled in relief, hoping this was the last time tonight that her panic would get the best of her. "Didn't know I had a revolving fucking door." She scoffed.

"They're gonna patch you." The Southern Cali President cut right to the chase. Sydney scoffed, looking away. "You don't think so?" He scowled, wondering if amongst the word that had been spreading across the charters about her progress, that maybe there was something that she wasn't telling him.

"I haven't really thought about it." It wasn't a lie. Sydney knew that the recent events should've given her a rush of confidence towards her goals, but her focus had been on keeping up the image that had landed her there in the first place - not on stopping to see how much it had developed.

"Losing focus… Now that don't sound like you."

"Yeah well, gunshots and bed rest don't sound like me either." She smiled sarcastically.

"The life of a Son." He mused with a knowing smile.

"Cameron wants that piece of shit Hefner killed before Monday." Chibs looked around the table at his Redwood brothers.

"He's squeezing the Irish for more payoff cash." Juice explained.

"And how is that our problem?" Tig groaned, scratching at the rigid plastic of the fold out table that they were occupying.

"We told Cameron we'd help him… Get our guns faster." Jax reminded him.

"Took a bullet to save him. That was help enough." Tig shook his head, clenching his jaw tightly.

"It aint help." Chibs shook his head. "It's a gift."

"We take out the Port Commissioner - he gives us back our $200k, plus a month of free guns."

Clay listened intently as his officers reported their information, nodding his head as he strategized how to best get what he wanted for the club, whilst keeping them happy after the bold move he'd pulled brokering a deal with the enemy behind their backs.

"Guns and cash… We could use that if we're gonna be steppin Laroy." Bobby thought aloud,, to Clay's relief.

"Murder for hire." The President surmised. "That's a dirty business." He warned. He knew that the club was on board, now he just needed to make them think that it was their idea - not his.

"It's not about money." Piney reminded his younger, greedier brothers. "That asshole killed McKeevy. Michael was a friend of mine, and yours, and your dad's." He looked to Jax. "He went back a long way with SAMCRO."

"What do you think, V.P.?" Clay nodded to his stepson.

"I agree with Piney." Jax pursed his lips. "McKeevy was a friend. I think we owe it to the Irish."

Tig nodded along while he chewed his lower lip. He didn't give a shit what they did, he just wanted to be able to move past the constant reminder that his old lady had been shot and he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it from happening.

Clay nodded, leaning forward as he placed his beer on the table. "How does Cameron want us to do it?"

"Got it all planned out." Juice nodded with a smile. "Hefner's got a ritual… Church with the fat wife, sex with the black girlfriend. She lives in a shitty hood right outside of his nice Oakland suburb."

"And that's where we take him out." Chibs grinned sadistically. "Black on white hate crime. Who gives a shit?"

Normally Tig would've been all for this kind of attitude coming from his usually more tame brothers, but he couldn't feel anything other than discomfort as he forced himself to remain calm and logical for the sake of his relationship - a setting that he didn't often turn on.

"Who does it?"

Jax never would have called himself an opportunist - that title was reserved for his stepfather. But when he saw the door open for him to save himself and possibly erase the strike on his record that Kohn had marked off, he couldn't help but take it.

"I-"

"I do." Opie cut him off.

Jax felt his veins run cold when he heard his best friend's voice over his own. "Been a while since you suited up, brother." He tried to talk him down. He might've been ready to accept his fate, but he wasn't ready to accept that his best friend was condemned to the same one.

Opie turned slightly, side eyeing the blonde man to his left as he tried to undermine his opportunity to earn his way back into the club. "I'll do it." Jax nodded as he looked into his eyes.

"I can do this." Opie turned his attention towards his President since his Vice President clearly wasn't doing him any favors.

"What about your little Princess?" Jax leant back, nodding to Clay. He was grasping at straws, but after seeing Clay so fiercely back Sydney, he figured that if the idea of him proving his loyalty wasn't enough to trump Opie's volunteer, then maybe the idea of letting Sydney prove hers would be. "Good chance to bring her in closer, let her know that her actions aren't goin unnoticed." He continued his pitch.

"She's a little tied up right now." Clay sneered at the ridiculous suggestion.

"Not too tied up…" Opie commented as his eyes wandered across the compound to where he saw Sydney walking up with Packer, getting out of his seat and respectfully leaving his superiors to discuss in private.

Tig's eyes lit up when he spotted that gorgeous white-blonde hair, curly and shining in the moonlight. He let the rising joy bring him to his feet, glancing down at Clay who gave him the nod of approval.

Sydney felt her stomach filling with butterflies when Tig gawked at her from across the compound. Her eyes sparkling as she smiled bashfully at him, kissing Packer on the cheek before making her way over to where he was walking towards her.

"Baby girl…" Tig purred, stopping in front of her with his hands on his hips as he looked her up and down.

Sydney bit her lip, swaying for him as his eyes raked over her in the ruffled baby blue romper she wore with her white cork wedges. She felt her cheeks getting hotter as he trailed his hands around her waist, humming as he pulled her against him.

"You're gorgeous." He whispered into her hair as her sweet scent flooded his nostrils and washed away any resentment he had been feeling. "You come for me?" He pulled his face away but kept his body pressed against hers, looking down with a grin as his hands slid underneath the loose fabric and gripped her ass.

"I told you Sergeant." She hummed low, tilting her lips up towards his. "I'll be coming for you for the rest of my life." She rasped.

"That's what I like to hear." He growled, descending his lips onto her in a passionate kiss, sucking her tongue before pulling away - not letting himself get too lost in the moment just yet. He had work to do - work that couldn't be done if he kept her all to himself. "Let's get you a drink." He smiled, leading her inside.

"Opie already proved he's back." Jax shook his head sternly once Tig was gone.

"He pressed a button, he didn't kill anyone." Clay scoffed. "Get Cameron to confirm the payoff." He nodded to Juice and Chibs, who nodded back - tapping the table before getting up and heading off to carry out the task.

"Jax, Ope, Bobby." Clay ordered. "No mistakes." He let his stern gaze linger on Jax before his shadowed eyes shifted across the compound where Tara was standing awkwardly, waiting for them to finish, reminding Jax of his current standing.

Jax nodded, keeping his composure even though he was cringing inside at the horrible timing of Tara's arrival. _At least he was being given a chance to make things right_, he told himself as he stood from the table and waltzed over to the out-of-place looking brunette.

"I want Ope pullin the trigger on this." Clay told Bobby once they were alone at the table. "I wanna make sure he's really back."

"I think we all do." Bobby nodded.

Tig walked through the clubhouse and to the bar with a smile on his face. He was better when Sydney was around; standing a little taller and walking a little prouder with her by his side - even if he was worried that she shouldn't be on her feet. He'd pushed away the impulse that he had to ask if she was okay to walk, and now he was fighting the need to get her sat down right away, trying to do what she wanted and trust that she would let him know if she wasn't okay. He'd learned earlier today that it was best to take her approach of ignorance, the more he emphasized it - the more uncomfortable she became, and that was the opposite of what he wanted.

Sydney felt good standing next to Tig, even when every set of eyes in the crowded room fell on her, scanning over her exposed body for any telltale signs that she _had_ actually been a victim of a shooting less than a week ago - because she sure didn't look like she had. She felt Tig's hand squeeze hers a little harder as people began to approach, squeezing back to let him know that she would be okay as she parted from him to accept the wave of greetings.

Packer smiled from where he sat by the pool table when the girl that he'd always known came back to life before him, catching Tig's eye across the room in the process. He raised his glass to the younger man who he could see was doing everything he could to care for his firecracker of a goddaughter - a job that he knew didn't come easy. Tig returned the gesture with a small smile and a nod of respect, at least _someone_ thought he was doing something right.

Sydney felt the nerves slowly beginning to fade as she managed to ease back into her comfort zone of life at the clubhouse - even with SAMDINO there. Unfortunately, the fading nerves meant the fading of her body's defence mechanism against the pain. She chugged the beer that Tig had gotten for her - motioning for Half-Sack as soon as she had a break in visitors.

"You okay?" Half-Sack asked worriedly as he scanned over her.

"I'm gonna need something stronger for the pain." She wiggled her empty bottle which he swiped, scurrying back behind the bar and scanning the selection of alcohol frantically - settling on a glass of 151.

"Here." He shoved the short glass into her hand, panting as he scanned the room. "I'm gonna find something better."

"Okay." Sydney chuckled in amusement. She wished that she could take everyone's distress over her injury as lightly as she took Kip's - something about the way he worried about her didn't seem to bother her like it did with the other's.

"Hey." Sydney heard the tentative voice behind her, turning around to see Tara standing with her hands in the pockets of her grey hoodie.

"Oh, hey Doc." Sydney smiled, wrapping her arms around her. She was glad to be back on good terms with the older woman, and even gladder to see that she had taken her advice about Jax.

"You know." Tara raised a brow as she pulled away. "You shouldn't be here." She shook her head with a knowing smirk

"Neither should you." Sydney smiled with a wink, linking arms with the dark haired woman and pulling her towards the bar.

Luckily, Sydney found herself on the couch rather quickly after having commandeered the seats from Rollie and multiple croweaters. She sat with her legs over Tig's lap, twirling her fingers in the curls by his ear as he explained his reasoning for his choice in their game of 'which member will end up with which whore'. If she could stay in this position all night and continue sipping on rum with an alcohol percentage of 75, she would be just fine.

"Juice _always_ goes for the blondes. I'm tellin you - he's got this one."

"She's like twice his size!" Sydney whisper-yelled in disbelief as Juice made his way closer to the intimidating blonde with dark makeup and facial piercings. "There's no way she'd go for him." She shook her head.

Tig leaned into her neck, closing his eyes as he listened to the soothing sound of her voice - even when she was trying to tell him that he was wrong. "Just watch." He chuckled, kissing her jaw as he squeezed her knee.

"You think you got me beat, Sergeant?" She rasped at his lips with a teasing smile.

"Oh Princess… I know I do." He smirked.

Sydney's lips curled up as she lifted her leg, pressing the sole of her shoe against his chest and pushing him away from her playfully, spilling her drink as she slid backwards against the armrest.

Tig laughed and shook his head as he swiped her glass, holding it to her lips as he poured the remaining contents down her throat before setting the glass on the table behind him. "You know." He turned his attention back to her, grabbing her foot and slipping one of her shoes off. "I remember these…" He held the white shoe up as he examined it, smirking at her as his mind drifted back to that day at the picnic table.

"I think you'll have to remind me." Sydney grinned as she leaned into him, rubbing her foot down the inside of his leg.

"I think." His voice dropped to a low, smokey whisper. "It went a little something like this…" He grasped her calf lightly, slipping the shoe onto her delicate foot and buckling it, just as he had that very same day.

"Yeah…" Sydney moaned lightly, closing her eyes as she shivered, feeling the same nervousness that she had all those weeks ago.

"Then this…" His hand trailed up her smooth skin as he leant closer and closer. "And then it _should've_ gone like this…" He brushed her nose with his, slowly turning his head before he felt his lips meeting hers in a gentle, tentative kiss - exactly like it would've gone that day.

All of the worries and doubts and discomfort in Sydney's mind disappeared. The scene surrounder her went black and the noise in her ear blurred as she was taken back to that day. She could feel it - the sun on her skin, the sound of the guys working in the garage behind them, the feeling of Tig's hand on her thigh.

"Damn, Princess." The obnoxious voice pulled Sydney from the slice of heaven that she'd managed to find among the chaos. Her fist balled in Tig's shirt as she felt her chest filling with an overwhelming frustration before she even looked up - knowing exactly who she would see. The innocent and hopeful butterflies behind her belly button were replaced by a deep resentment as she looked into Tig's apologetic eyes.

"Shot to the leg… Laid up with a man. I barely recognize ya." Tank mused as he plopped into the vacant armchair across from them, holding a towel to his bloody nose.

Sydney could feel her legs beginning to vibrate as she stifled her breath to try and control her heaving chest, which only served to double the pain that she had already begun to feel in her leg. She felt Tig's grip on her leg getting tighter in his own anger, which miraculously was the only thing that had her keeping her cool - she needed to be the one to shut this down, not him.

"Could still kick your ass." She replied smugly, digging her heel into Tig's calf to keep him at bay. "Maybe then you'd recognize me."

"You missed one hell of a fight, Kitty Cat." Donut smirked at Sydney as he dried off his muscular upper body which was glistening with sweat, taking a seat on the other end of their couch as Cobra, Chibs, Yates, and a few Nevada guys joined their circle.

"I'll get my own." Sydney replied distantly, not breaking eye contact with Tank.

"Can't do shit without those legs." Tank scoffed, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground by her feet. "I know you like using those legs on me…" He taunted.

At the perfect moment, Cherry stumbled into the middle of the confrontation - effectively tabling the explosion that was about to come from Sydney _and _Tig.

"Sorry…" The little brunette looked around awkwardly, realizing that she had interrupted something. "Uh, Sack's got somethin for you." She nodded to Sydney.

Sydney's brow creased lightly before she remembered the blonde man telling her that he would be on the lookout for something stronger to help her with the pain - which was exactly what she needed right now if she was going to get through the crash that was to follow the burst of adrenaline. She nodded, using her last bit of strength to push herself to her feet so that she could get herself to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tank laughed as she got up to walk away, kicking back in the leather chair with a smug smile as she backed down from the challenge before he was startled by a loud crunch and a wave of pain, flying back in the chair as a warm sensation trickled down his neck.

"The hands still work okay." Sydney smirked as she sucked the blood from her finger, revelling in the barrage of whoops, hollers, and cheers before turning to follow Cherry, leaving Tank with blood gushing from his now broken nose. _Now _she had the strength that she needed to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Cherry brought Sydney through to the kitchen, away from the hoards of bikers who were still reeling over her sneak attack. She turned to face the blonde woman, looking around to be sure that nobody was in earshot as she looked down at her palm and opened it slowly to reveal the two large white pills.

"Oxy?" Sydney hadn't at all expected narcotics, but she figured that she was going to need to be carried to bed anyways, and she would rather look like she was being carried to bed because she was too intoxicated than because she couldn't walk on her own.

"He said that it would help…" Cherry looked up at her tentatively. "With the pain." She nodded to her leg sympathetically.

"Yeah… It will." She nodded to Half-Sack's girlfriend gratefully. "Thanks."

Cherry nodded, taking her leave hesitantly before stopping over the threshold, looking behind her as she decided to go for it. "You're strong… Gonna be a good addition to the club one day." She nodded with a smile, turning to walk away more confidently this time. "Oh!" She ran back, swinging off the doorframe. "Sack put a bottle of Patron in the fridge for you." She winked.

Sydney chuckled, smiling at the Nevada girl. Normally, the words of a croweater wouldn't have held much weight, but Cherry was a smart girl and she had grown up around the club, as Sydney had - so she knew that if Cherry could see she belonged in the club, that she was doing something right.

Happy waltzed into the kitchen in search of Sydney after the uproar he'd heard from the corner of the room where Tank had been left bloody, stopping when he saw her standing in the kitchen with her head tilted back and a bottle of tequila to her lips. "The hell you doin?" He asked with a stern scowl.

"Taking my medicine." She smiled sarcastically.

Happy's scowl only got deeper with her answer. He knew that something wasn't right, but he couldn't figure out if it was his head or his heart telling him that. He walked up to her slowly as he stared her down with the demanding black gaze that always managed to get answers from her, but tonight he got nothing. He looked over her, hoping that maybe if her eyes wouldn't tell him what was off, something else would. That was when he noticed it, the gleaming bare skin between her collarbones.

"Where's your necklace?" He nodded.

Sydney remained silent, staring up at him with a hardened gaze as her fingers stroked down the cross around her thumb.

A look of shock came to Happy's face when he looked down at the ring on her finger, remembering Tig clutching his chain at the table earlier. "I guess he's treating you good then." He commented with a formal nod of his strong chin.

"What can I say?" She mused. "The man handles his problems well."

"You aint a problem." He shook his head.

"That's not what you thought when I was alone in a hospital bed." Her voice dropped to a volume just above a whisper as her lip began quivering.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head when he saw her getting upset again. "I-"

"There's no apology that will ever take back what you said." Sydney swallowed the crack in her voice as she seethed the angry words.

"I didn't mean what I said." He rebutted quickly.

"Doesn't matter." She shook her head. "You were right. I don't need you anymore." She took a step towards him. "I have an old man now." Another step. "So why don't you do what you're good at, and leave? After all…" She reached up, stroking the charter flash on his chest with her thumb that adorned Tig's ring. "That's what Nomad means, right?" She rasped tauntingly.

Happy shook his head, reaching for her hand before she swiped it away and slapped him harshly across the cheek.

The bald man winced, keeping his head turned to the side as she stood before him while his face stung almost as badly as the expression on her face did. He had always known that the fire behind her eyes was a powerful blaze, but he hadn't known just how powerful until this moment: when he was the one feeling the flame.

* * *

**Song for this chapter:**

_**Bang Bang - Kieran Mercer**_


	56. Medicated

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 56: MEDICATED**

Tig sat back on the couch with a proud smirk on his face as he watched Tank whimper and writhe in pain, screaming profanities about Sydney into the electrically charged air as everyone watched to see what would happen next. The Sergeant let himself ride the high of having such a badass woman for a little longer before finally getting himself up and waltzing over to the San Bernardino man.

"What'd you say?" He asked quietly as he approached, the hysterical man looking up at him in disbelief to see that infamously sadistic look on his face. "I know that's not my old lady you're talking about…"

"She aint no fuckin old lady." Tank spit angrily. "She's just-" The brown-eyed man felt himself being yanked out of his seat and slammed into the ground face first before he could finish his sentence.

"What was that?" Tig lifted Tank's head up by his hair as he screamed in pain.

"Nothing. N-nothing." The younger man wailed, not looking to have any more damage done to his already shattered face.

"Yeah… I thought so." He dropped Tank's head, smiling when it happened to bounce off of the floor once again. He made to get up, his eyes trailing to the pair of white wedges in front of him - slowly looking up to see Sydney standing over him with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"What're you doin baby?" She smirked, nodding to the carcass of a man on the floor below him as he looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. The sight of Tank on the ground alone was enough to trump her distress over Happy - but the sight of Tig looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar was the cherry on top.

"Just uh…" Tig looked back down, chuckling as he got to his feet and dusted his hands off. "Finishin what you started." He smirked, looking down at the bottle of tequila in her hand. "Find yourself somethin?" She nodded with a smile, taking his hand as she held the bottle above her head and spun around before pushing it to his lips.

Tig chuckled as he grabbed the bottle, glad that she seemed to have shaken off the incident that he was sure would send her over the edge. "You wanna stay here tonight?" He quirked an eyebrow at her enthusiasm. If she wanted him to drink as much as he thought she did, there was no way that he would be able to drive them home.

"Mhmm." She nodded excitedly.

"Okay." He smiled, pulling her against him as he pressed his lips against her cheek. "You gotta tell Donut though… I think he's been crashing in my room." He mumbled into her ear with a devious smirk.

"Poor Donut." She giggled.

Tara sat awkwardly on Jax's knee at the poker table as she looked around the unfamiliar setting which resided on the complete opposite side of her comfort zone. Among the hoards of bikers and women, she accidentally caught Gemma's eye in the process of trying to find something to focus on in order to calm her nerves. She felt her muscles tensing, trying to pull her gaze away from the woman who was staring her down from where she stood by the bar with a croweater - she had been trying to _calm_ her nerves, not make them worse.

"You okay?" Jax nudged her gently when he felt her stiffing in his lap.

"Yeah." She blinked a few times, looking around the table for the first thing that grabbed her attention - which happened to be Sydney and Tig who were wrestling over each other's cards.

The blonde man looked at her skeptically with that knowing smirk on his face as his brow raised higher in hopes of lightening Tara's so infamously uptight mood.

"She still wants me dead. You know that, right?" Tara sighed with a small smile, caving under the charm that seemed to make all of her discomfort fade into the background.

"I'll handle my mother." Jax rolled his eyes, smiling as he pulled her closer.

"You said you would let me win!" Sydney laughed as she yanked her cards further away from Tig's wandering eyes, the fast movement making her far dizzier than she'd expected as she voraciously fought gravity as it threatened to pull her out of her chair and to the ground.

"How do you know I'm not gonna let you?" He argued as he leaned closer to sneak a peek.

Sydney squealed when she felt his breath in her ear, recoiling further and knocking her bottle of tequila over in the process, screaming as she scrambled to catch it and began laughing hysterically.

Tig laughed at her dramatic display, realizing that the alcohol was hitting her _much_ harder than it had been hitting him because the tequila they'd been sharing was only just starting to give him a buzz. He reached over her, giving the impression that he was trying to help before he swiped her cards, sitting back with a grin on his face.

"No fair!" Sydney launched herself out of her chair but her limp body landed her right into his lap instead as he held the cards above his head.

Tig scowled when she practically toppled onto him, feeling the nervous tense of her muscles when she realized what had happened before she carried on what she was doing - waving her hand around as she tried to pluck the cards from his fingers. He blinked a few times as he tried to brush off the incident - figuring that she had forgotten about her injury when she went to stand and the pain had taken her by surprise - not wanting to alert anybody.

"Tiggy…" She whined, jutting out her lower lip and widening her eyes in a display of innocence to get him to cave.

That was when Tig saw it: the explanation for her bizarre behaviour. He felt his heart sink deep in his chest as his face fell. He couldn't wipe the scowl off of his face this time - there was no explaining this one away.

Sydney's brows began to furrow as she watched Tig's expression change drastically from light and playful, to serious and concerned.

"Are you high?" He grabbed her face, studying the _tiny_ black dots in the green abyss that the pills had reduced her pupils to.

Sydney felt her scowl turn to a frown in his grip, looking over her shoulder discreetly to see if anyone had heard. Once she was satisfied that the confrontation had gone unnoticed, she turned back to him slowly in the hopes that she had just misjudged his tone in her hazy state. Surely _he _wasn't upset with _her_ for trying to enjoy the party?

Tig could feel every beat of his heart as his ears began to ring and his jaw set as his ability to let her handle this in her own way completely left the party. He nodded for her to get up - he didn't want to have this conversation to begin with, but he _definitely_ didn't want to have this conversation in front of an audience.

"Re-deal without us. You can keep my money." He tossed their cards into the centre of the table, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the hallway, ignoring the wolf whistles of the mislead men that came from the table.

Of course, of all the moments Sydney to be hit by the effects of the drugs, it was now. She couldn't feel anything as Tig dragged her harshly behind him. She wouldn't even have known that she was moving if it wasn't for the change of scenery happening before her eyes as they advanced forward.

Tig stopped in front of the door to his room once they were out of earshot, watching her blink rapidly as she tried to gain her bearings while the sounds of faint moaning coming from behind closed dorm rooms were the only sound that could be heard between them. "The tequila wasn't all that you got from the prospect, was it?" He sighed when he realized that she wasn't going to answer him.

"You used to like having fun with me." Sydney pouted as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"I'm worried about you."

"Why? You're right here to protect me." She looked up at him innocently.

"That's not what this is about." Tig shook his head, feeling his frustration rising when she didn't take the situation seriously. He couldn't tell if her nonchalance was coming from the drugs, or if her judgment had actually just been _that_ clouded by her need to numb the pain.

"What happened to 'you can drink as much as you want tonight, baby'?" She mocked, feeling her words starting to get harder to enunciate properly.

"I said drink. I didn't say pop pills."

"Tig it's a fucking painkiller." She rolled her eyes. "I could've got them at the hospital if I wanted them."

Tig knew by her answer that she'd taken oxy - the only opioid that was in the SAMCRO drug closet. "Yeah, it's a painkiller - a painkiller that mixes with alcohol and gets you so fucked up that you wouldn't even know your own name."

"Good." She scoffed. That was exactly what she wanted.

Tig fought the physical recoil as he felt his heart cracking behind his chest, shaking his head as he stared into her soul. He knew that she was just being dramatic, but he couldn't shake the familiarities that were crawling under his skin - he couldn't go down this path again.

"Do you want me to feel better or not?" Sydney felt her own frustration taking over now.

"Of course I do, but not like this." He looked her over sadly.

Sydney felt embarrassment washing over her when he looked at her so pitifully - so judgmentally. She was instantly reminded of her last drunken stupor when she had felt the same way. The only difference was that Happy had come to rescue her last time, and she knew that he wouldn't be doing that this time.

"Why?" She crossed her arms, feeling her words starting to slur together. "Don't want to have to take care of me later?" She waited for a response but got nothing, her heavy eyes wandering across the laugh lines in his face which made him look anything but jolly. "I came for you. Because _you_ wanted me here. So the least you could do is let me try and enjoy myself." She stated somberly, turning to walk away.

Tig pursed his lips angrily as he shook his head, fighting the urge he had to punch the wooden door in front of him. Not only had he failed to convey his point, now he had upset her _and _made himself look like a hypocrite. He inhaled sharply, knowing that the only way to solve this was with the one thing he had been told he needed to practice this whole time: with communication; with _transparency._

"Nah, come back." He grabbed her elbow, pulling her back where he pushed her up against the wall and held her there with his hands on her face - forcing her to look at him. "I have to say this before you're too fucked up to understand." He sneered through gritted teeth, forcing himself to relax his jaw before he continued. "I love you. And I love taking care of you. Being the one to be able to take care of you everyday was my fucking fantasy from the second I met you - and it still is. Okay? That's what I've been trying to do this whole damn time - take care of you. _You _are the one who won't let me."

"Because of this." Sydney whispered as the honest words left her quivering lips. This was exactly what she'd know would happen all along - that the burden of caring for something that he couldn't protect would become too much.

"I don't give a shit about this." He shook his head as he dropped his hands to his sides, looking to the ground as he took a deep breath. "The only person you're burdening is yourself. I take care of you because I want to. Because I love you... Because it makes me feel like a better man." He reluctantly let the truths roll off of his tongue - hoping that even under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it would help her understand. "But if I start taking care of you for the wrong reasons…" He shook his head slowly as he felt his ability to speak candidly started to short out as the words got caught in the back of his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut, wincing as he tried to shake them loose but he couldn't - not as the rush of adrenaline that had helped push them out, died down. "Look, I don't wanna start doing it for the wrong reasons. Okay? And maybe I overreacted." He nodded sympathetically. "But you aint the only one that this has been hard on… And you aint the only one with past shit coming back to haunt you." He spoke cryptically with dangerous sincerity behind his eyes.

Sydney shivered when he practically read her mind, feeling her nerves calming as he apologized and reassured her that he wanted to be there for her, but she froze right back up the second that his last words hit her ears. "I-." Her face fell and her throat locked up as she was flooded with emotion. She hadn't even _considered_ how her actions would affect him, let alone _why_ they would affect him. "I'm sorry. Tig I-" She began shaking her head frantically.

"It's okay." He hushed her with his hands on her face again - stopping her before she could take him any further down the path that he so desperately wanted to avoid. "It's a conversation for another day." He shook his head, feeling his mind fill with dread as he wondered when that day would come.

"I'll go." She tried to offer up something to make up for it. She didn't want him to force himself to babysit her for the night and let her irresponsible coping mechanism be a reminder to him of why he had been worried about her in the first place. "I didn't mean to-"

"You kiddin?" Tig smirked as he wrapped his arms around her. "An excuse to party? Have my girl hanging off of me?" He husked as he rocked her back and forth soothingly. He didn't want her to feel bad - he knew she'd gotten the message. And now that the hard part was out of the way, he wanted to move onto the easy part: forgetting about it.

Sydney stared up at him with uncertainty and guilt clouding her milky eyes. "Walk it off." He nodded. "I'm gonna do the same. When I come back, I'll be ready to have fun with you." He smirked. Partying had _never _been an issue for him - especially when it came to partying for a distraction.

"Are you sure?" She asked meekly.

"Yes." He blinked slowly.

"Don't be mad at Half-Sack… It wasn't his fault." She pleaded with fluttery eyes.

Tig said nothing, bringing his lips to hers softly instead - feeling her tensing under his touch. "Don't worry." He mumbled against her lips. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry." She choked out before his lips were on hers again.

"I know." He rubbed his thumb over her bicep before kissing her again, letting his lips linger this time in hopes of assuring her physically as well as verbally. "I'll come find you." He whispered between his slow, passionate kisses.

"Promise?" She squeaked, looking up at him worriedly.

"On my life, baby." He smirked.

Bobby stood at the long table outside by the fighting ring which had cleared out, counting up the money for the last round of bets that had been placed for the night. "Who visited the piggy bank?" He heard behind him, turning around to see Tig.

"Juice earlier, then Sack." He reported to the Sergeant who responded with a curt nod, taking off as quickly as he'd appeared.

Opie stood by the door quietly observing the party - as he usually did - while he puffed on a cigarette. A wild party was the absolute last place that he wanted to be spending his time right now, but he knew that going home to an empty house was much worse than standing alone in a crowded room. His attention was grabbed by the blue colour of Sydney's romper in the sea of black leather, his brown eyes glued to her as she stumbled through the crowds.

"Hey!" He made his way over to her, steadying her with an arm around her waist.

"Oh Ope." She pouted. "Didn't mommy ever teach you not to touch what you can't afford?" She swayed in his arms, holding the tequila as she laughed wildly at her own joke.

"Yeah, yeah." The tall man chuckled with a light roll of his eyes. "Where's Tig?" He looked around, knowing that the Sergeant had to be closeby if she was _this_ fucked up.

"I don't know." She drawled, shaking her head around until she made herself dizzy. "He said he would come find me."

"Yeah… Well he shouldn't have left you alone to begin with." Opie shook his head as his jaw clenched, looking around the room once more before making the decision to help bring her outside to get some much needed air.

Clay stood at the bar with Gemma by his side, watching the encounter between the tormented man, and the troubled woman with a deep concern. He closed his eyes as he grimaced, worrying that Tig had chosen the worst time to decide he was tired of playing house with the younger girl.

"She should not be here, Clay." Gemma told him sternly. "Not walking around, not around these people…"

"I'll handle it." Clay dismissed her. He had enough of his own worry about Tig's inability to keep his old lady on a leash, he didn't need Gemma's worry too.

"You better! She is not going to get any better unless-"

"I said-" He raised his voice in frustration. "I'll handle it." He sighed, relaxing his demeanor as his eyes softened, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"Stay here, I'm gonna find him." Opie told Sydney as he lifted her onto a picnic table tucked in the back corner of the compound where she would be alone and out of harm's way.

"You don't gotta do that, Ope." Sydney arched her back and stretched her arm above her head.

"He shouldn't treat you like this." Opie stated before turning to head back inside, grinding his teeth along the way. He hated that a piece of shit like Tig had everything he wanted - an old lady that understood the club life - and he took it for granted.

The bearded man crossed the threshold, looking among the man heads for Tig's curly hair, when he bumped into Clay. "Hey. She shouldn't be here." He shook his head in concern, looking over his shoulder where he could see her laying on top of the picnic table.

"I know." Clay answered, continuing his path out of the clubhouse. "Find Tig."

Half-Sack was crouched behind the bar, grabbing as many beer bottles as he could fit under his lanky arm as he rushed to serve the wild crowd. He heaved himself up, slumping over the bartop as he doled out the alcoholic beverages.

"Hey." He heard Cherry's voice beside him as he felt her hand on his arm, calming his anxious mind.

"Hey." He smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "Sorry I can't hangout with you… I'm real busy but hopefully I'll get a break soo-"

"It's fine." Cherry chuckled. She didn't mind, she was no stranger to the company of bikers. "They want you out back though."

"Shit." Half-Sack looked around the crowded bar. "Okay. Do you think you could handle this while I'm gone?"

"He said I could come… I don't think it'll take too long."

Half-Sack's brow creased when Cherry told him the little information she had been given, wondering what on earth they could be summoning him _and_ Cherry for. "Okay." He grabbed her hand, leading her towards the back door - he figured that whatever it was, it was best not to keep them waiting. He reached the back of the clubhouse, swinging the heavy metal door open where he expected SAMCRO would be waiting, but instead he saw no one; heard nothing except the faint sound of the party on the other side of the building, and the moaning from where one of the Tacoma guys was fucking a croweater against the fence.

"Hey Cher." He looked over his shoulder at the short girl. "You sure they said out bac-" He was cut off by someone yanking him out the door by his shirt and slamming him harshly against the brick wall, coming face to face with ice blue eyes full of fire.

"Woah, woah woah! Stop!" Cherry yelled, clutching at Tig's arm as he held Half-Sack by the neck.

"Back. The fuck. Up." The dangerously low warning came from the Sergeant who never shifted his gaze from the prospect. Cherry checked herself, remembering where she was and who she was talking to as she took her hands off of the Redwood Sergeant, taking a step back as she began trembling in anticipation.

"Tig. Man…" The terrified kid tried to calm the rage that he'd _never_ wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"You give Sydney drugs?"

"What? No. No man, of course not. I just gave her some-"

"Answer the question!" Tig yelled, tightening his grip. "Did you give Sydney drugs?" He sneered through gritted teeth, his jaw clenching so hard that he worried it would pop.

"Oxy..." He choked out. "She said she was in pain. I just thought-"

"You know her mom was an addict?" Tig cut him off again.

"Uh… Well n-no-"

"No. I didn't think so." Tig nodded, pulling away slowly as he stared distantly into his guilty blue eyes, turning his head towards Cherry slowly. "Take your pants off."

"What?" Cherry scowled, her blood running cold.

"What?" Half-Sack asked half threatening, half terrified.

"Do it. Now!"

"I'm not fucking doing that!" Cherry yelled back, her confidence shrinking as Tig turned and began advancing towards her.

"No!" Half-Sack yelled, running in front of him. "What the hell is this? What are you gonna do?"

"Well, Kippy." Tig chortled as he looked to the ground. "I'm gonna fuck your girlfriend, the same way you fucked mine." He spit out hatefully.

"You're not gonna do that." Half-Sack shook his head, crossing his arms as he stood his ground. "I'm not gonna let you do that."

"You're right." Tig grinned menacingly. "I'm not." He leaned in closer, growling into the prospect's ear. "But if you do anything like that again without my permission, it won't be just her. It'll be both of you."

Sydney stared up at the stars, enjoying the silence as her mind swam in the rivers of tequila and her heavy eyes rolled in tune with the spinning sky above her. She'd long forgotten about the incident with Tank, the incident with Happy, and even the incident with Tig as the mixture of narcotics and hard liquor swept her off of her feet.

"You doin okay?" She heard faintly, looking beyond where the bottle of tequila was tilted up to her lips to see Clay.

"Sure am." She slurred, spilling the patron as she tried to pull it away from her mouth as she spoke. "What would _possibly_ make you think that I wasn't?" She laughed as she sat up, holding the bottle above her head as she stretched.

Clay raised a brow as he watched the theatrical scene before him, smiling with a mixture of amusement and unimpress. "I think that half a bottle, and god knows how many pills of whatever he gave you, deep - you know as well as I do that you shouldn't be walking." He narrowed his eyes.

Sydney said nothing. Even delirious, she could still feel every ounce of his doubt that she could hold her own against the tough crowd. She sighed sadly, kicking off her shoes and placing her hands and feet against the cold wood in an attempt to get her buzzing body to feel something other than embarrassment.

Clay frowned when he saw her face fall, moving to sit on the picnic table next to her - hoping that he could convey his concern from a less threatening angle. "Tig's worried… Gem's worried…" He sighed.

"Yeah, well." She sighed. "Tig and Gem are always worried." She chortled. "You don't need to worry about me too, Pres." She stated glumly, giving him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Tara flinched when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder from where she stood alone in the hallway after coming out of the bathroom.

"Um." She looked around uncomfortably. "Jax is waiting for me." She mustered up her best friendly smile even though she could feel herself physically cringing.

"Uh, it's about Sydney." Tig dropped his hand when he realized he was scaring her, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "She took some pills, I'm worried about her."

"What kind of pills?" The doctor's brows knit in concern.

"Oxy… Mixin them with tequila."

"Not exactly what I would recommend but… She should be fine." Tara assured him with a chuckle. "Although with an injury as serious as hers, it would be best to get her to bed. She shouldn't be anywhere like this while her body is trying to repair that kind of damage."

Tig felt his forehead creasing slightly when Tara spoke so seriously about Sydney's injury. He knew it wasn't good, but he hadn't thought it was _that_ bad. "Uh, yeah. Okay." He nodded awkwardly.

"Um." Tara shook her head, refocusing on the task at hand - she couldn't tell if Tig wasn't taking her seriously, or if maybe he hadn't been privy to the extent of Sydney's condition. "Make sure she drinks plenty of water. The effects will wear off during the night, the positive is that she will have a good sleep. Make sure she doesn't lay on her back, and the only thing you really need to watch for is if her breathing slows, but I doubt that will happen. If it does, I'll be in Jax's room." She gave a sympathetic smile to the worried man that she was finding to be shockingly sweet.

"Alright." Tig smiled, nodding graciously. "Thanks, doc." He patted her on the arm before heading back out to the party to find Sydney.

"She's outside." Opie nodded to Tig from where he stood by the door.

The blue eyed man nodded his thanks to his younger brother, starting out the door where he almost ran into Clay. "I never thought I'd have to tell you this." The older man scoffed. "Take your old lady to bed." He sneered, shoving Sydney's bottle of tequila into Tig's chest.

Tig ground his teeth, feeling his frustration building as his fight or flight kicked in when even after all of his efforts, even when he was _trying_ to do the right thing; he was still wrong, he was the same thing that he had always been - misunderstood. He briefly thought about throwing in the towel - running away from the problem that he couldn't seem to solve no matter how hard he tried, but he felt his hand instinctively clasping around the heart around his neck, rubbing the smooth gold between his fingers as he willed himself to calm down and remain rational. He knew that he was trying, and so did she. That was all that mattered.

Sydney heard the footsteps approaching, snapping her out of the sleep that she was beginning to succumb to, using all of her strength to pry her eyes open where she saw Tig approaching.

"Hi Tiggy." She mumbled, her eyes falling closed again.

"Hi baby." He answered quietly as he sat down next to where she was laying. He was glad that she was practically incoherent - it meant that he didn't have to drain himself trying to cover his sorrow. "Come here." He slid his arms underneath her gently, pulling her across his chest as he laid on his back so that she wasn't on hers - tilting his head towards the dark night sky

"We don't have to have fun." Sydney murmured. "We can just go to sleep."

"You tire out on me?" He joked, trying to keep the mood light for both her sake and his own even though he was beyond glad to hear that bringing her to bed wasn't going to turn into another fight.

"Mhmm." She hummed as she inhaled his cologne, her spinning head finding comfort in the rhythm of his rising chest. "I'm hungry."

"You're tired." Tig chuckled as he listened to her grumbling against his chest, half asleep.

"I want tacos." She whined.

"There aint nowhere to get tacos right now, babe."

"But I'm so hungry…" She drawled dramatically as she rolled off of his chest.

"Get back here." Tig laughed, yanking her back into his arms before she rolled right off of the picnic table. "You didn't eat the dinner I sent you?"

"Yeah, but it's not tacos." She buried her face so deep into his chest that he could barely hear her muffled reply.

"I promise that tomorrow, I will get you all the tacos in the world." He chuckled in amusement, rubbing her arm.

"You're too good to me…" She lifted her head slowly.

"No one could ever be too good for you, doll." He squeezed her hand. "I'm just tryin to be enough." For some reason, he found it easier to express his deeper feelings when she wasn't present enough to understand the weight of them in the moment.

"You're more than enough." Sydney widened her eyes, pushing herself up in a panic.

"Hey, hey, hey." He sat up when she tried to move, guiding her onto her back so that she could see his eyes without making herself sick.

"See. You do things like that. I don't deserve you." She shook her head as tears came to her eyes.

"Of course you do, babe." He scoffed as a genuine smile came to his face as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek. He almost wished that he hadn't tainted the evening with his worries, knowing that they would both be laughing over her dramatics if he'd allowed himself to indulge the same way that she had.

"No." She shook her head. "A good- old lady would've- never- taken pills- behind your back after everything you did- for- me." Hiccuped sobs began leaving her lips.

"Yeah. And a good old man would've never let you come out here, drunk and high by yourself." He countered easily as she slurred her apologies. "We can be bad together." He winked.

As much as Tig hated to see her upset, he knew that the amusing display was just a result of the oxy-cocktail, and it helped lift his spirits to know that he wasn't the only one who was learning how to navigate a relationship amongst the club.

"But I wanna be good for you." She pouted, jutting out her lips and looking up at him as the moon shone off of her glossy eyes.

"You're the best for me, babe." He assured her confidently. "My good girl, remember?" He smirked as he leant down and captured her lips.

Sydney felt her senses recharge and her consciousness return when he kissed her, pulling him closer with her hands on his neck as she relaxed. No matter what state of intoxication or distress she'd found herself in, he was always the one thing that was able to bring her back to earth.

Tig hadn't expected her to deepen the kiss in her state of intoxication, but it was a surprise that he welcomed with open arms after the surprises he'd faced over the last few weeks. He let himself indulge in her tequila flavored mouth, resting his weight on her as his hand moved to her face, stroking her jaw while they made out under the stars - just like he had promised.

* * *

**Song for this chapter:**

_**Bad Together - Dua Lipa**_


	57. The Healing

**Opie has green eyes and I accidentally gave him brown eyes in the last chapter. Opie hoes plz forgive me :/ **

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 57: THE HEALING**

"Mornin, sleeping beauty." Tig chuckled with his lips against Sydney's cheek once she began stirring against his chest, hugging her tightly as he listened to her soft giggling.

"That makes you Prince Charming." She mused with a lazy smile before he stood from the bed, looking him over playfully as he pulled on his jeans.

"I'd expect a lot more than Prince Charming after last night." He scoffed with a smile, eyeing her knowingly.

Tig's night had been anything but peaceful. He had been terrified to sleep, worrying that if he did he would wake up to Sydney cold and dead next to him. So he'd opted to stay awake for most of the night, listening to her rambling when she was awake and monitoring her breathing and making sure she stayed off of her back while she slept.

Sydney shrunk under his gaze, feeling her cheeks reddening with embarrassment as she hid her face in the blankets.

"Oh yeah." Tig groaned, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling the blanket away from her. "Your hair was in my face, you were drooling on me, snoring in my ear." He listed with a shit-eating grin.

"I was not!" She squealed, lunging forward and smacking him on the arm lightly. She was glad that her discomfort only extended as far as embarrassment and nothing more - grateful that they were back to their regular banter about what had previously been a _very_ rocky subject.

"You were too!" He argued, pulling her into his lap where he peppered her jaw with kisses, smiling as she squirmed in his grip while his lips tickled her sensitive skin. "Hungover?" He asked once he stopped his assault on her face.

"Not really." She replied gratefully.

"Good." He nodded, knowing her rejuvenated body was likely thanks to the gallons of water that he'd forced down her throat at any possible moment throughout the night. "How's the pain?" He nodded to her leg.

"Okay." She replied meekly, feeling the aching spreading through her body the second that he reminded her of it.

"Alright." He accepted her answer even though he knew it wasn't the truth, kissing her temple before setting her back down to the mattress so that he could get up. "I'll be back. Stay here, sleep, watch TV - it's still early. I got some shit I need to take care of for Clay before we head out."

"We?" Sydney raised her brow suggestively. "Are you gonna be my chauffeur for the day, Sergeant?" She purred seductively as a devilish smirk played on her lips.

"You know it, baby… You get to ride me all day long." He mimicked her devious expression, grabbing her hand and leaning down to kiss her goodbye.

Sydney kissed him through her smile, whimpering at the loss of contact as he tried to pull away, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her nose in his chest as she squeezed him tight.

"I'll be back soon." He chortled, rubbing her back. "And you _were_ snoring." He smirked into her hair before he made to pull away.

"Shut up." She grumbled. "You snore all the time." She finally let go of him, rolling her eyes as she watched him slip out the door with a smile on his face.

Opie paced back and forth through the garage as he watched the sun slowly rise over the clubhouse out the bay doors, time passing him by as he continued his path - weaving in and out of the car lifts. He had been at it for hours, and he knew that he would continue to be at it for hours considering the early hour and the rager that had wrapped up not long before he'd arrived for the job that he was eager to get over with.

"We aint set to head out for a while." He looked up to see Jax eyeing him disapprovingly from the doorway of the office.

"Donna took the kids to her mom's. I can never sleep when the house is empty." Opie looked down at his knuckles.

Jax sucked in a deep breath, pursing his lips as he contemplated the best way to get his best friend off of this hit. He pushed himself off of the doorframe he'd been leaning on, approaching the taller man wearily. "This gig doesn't make sense for you, Ope." He shook his head as he looked up at him sincerely.

"Why do you keep trying to push me off of this? You're the one who keeps saying I can't live half in, half out." He shook his head in confusion, knowing that there had to be a tighter angle that Jax was working here.

"Cause you need it too much." Jax went with the first one of his rehearsed excuses that came to mind. "Becomes about money… Shit gets sloppy."

"This is not about money." Opie looked away awkwardly, feeling the anger of embarrassment building in his chest as he searched for his own excuse. "I'm doing this the same reason you are - to prove I'm SAMCRO."

Jax felt himself stiffen with Opie's choice of words. "I got nothing to prove." He tried to reply as casually as possible - knowing that if he showed any kind of defensiveness over the matter, his lifelong friend would pick up on the fact that he had been right.

"That's not what I hear."

The VP knew that he wouldn't be getting his way on this one - not without help at least. He shook his head with his teeth clenched, storming away in search of the one person he knew would be able to sniff out a reason to put Opie on the bench.

"Hey man." Jax heard from behind him as his hand hovered over the doorknob to Tig's dorm, looking over his shoulder to see the Sergeant himself.

"Oh, hey." He nodded. "Sydney up? Was gonna relay the game plan." Technically, it wasn't a lie.

Sydney lifted her head from the pillow, turning her attention away from the TV when she heard footsteps coming down the hall, scowled when she heard them footsteps stop just outside the door and then heard multiple muffled voices - recognizing them to be Tig and Jax.

"Nah, she's still sleepin - best to leave her that way." Tig chuckled. "I'll let her know what the plan is." He nodded sympathetically, clapping the younger man on the shoulder as he led him down the hallway to listen to his instructions.

By the time that Tig got back, Sydney hadn't moved from where she'd sat up - anxiously awaiting his return to find out what the rendezvous outside the door was about.

Tig opened the door slowly, peeking his head inside to be sure that he wasn't waking her. "Hey." He smiled bashfully when he saw her sitting in the middle of the bed, entering the room to reveal the iced latte and paper bag from her favorite bakery.

"See." She grinned bashfully. "You _are_ too good to me."

"Only cause I know how good you are." He replied earnestly as he made his way over to the bed, passing her the large caffeinated beverage where she began gulping it down through the straw.

"Damn." He chuckled. "All that water didn't do it for ya?"

Sydney swallowed the caramel flavoured coffee and inhaled a deep breath that the chugging had taken out of her. "All that water is exactly what did it for me." She scoffed.

"Maybe a chocolate croissant will help." He smiled, dangling the paper bag containing the pastry as he stood from the bed.

"I think it might." She smirked. "Thank you." She smiled gratefully.

"No problem, babe." He turned and began making his way to the bathroom.

"Was that Jax I heard outside?" She asked casually, taking another sip.

"Oh, yeah. He was just gonna let you know how today is gonna go down, but I got it covered." He winked.

Sydney nodded, looking down at the brown liquid that was draining from the clear plastic cup in her hands. She knew that Jax's excuse had been just that - an excuse; he had been present for her briefing the night before, and she was dying to know what he had been trying to slip in to tell her while Tig was away.

"What kinda bullshit is Gretchen pulling now?" Tig groaned as he caught a glimpse of the TV where she was watching The Real Housewives of Orange County; the trashy reality show that he had shamefully become hooked on because of her - but he would never admit it.

"Nothing!" Sydney exclaimed with a wide grin. Even him bashing her favorite housewife couldn't trump her excitement over the fact that he was finally warming up to her TV choices - as she had been telling him he would do for weeks. "I thought the ruthless Sergeant at Arms was too manly to watch my _girly TV shows_?" She mimicked him with an eyeroll.

"I am." He scoffed unconvincingly.

"Vicki is _clearly_ the enemy here, you just haven't been paying attention enough." She turned her nose up.

"Yes, I have!"

"Ah." Sydney held her finger up as she caught him, backing him into a verbal corner as she shook her head with a smug smile and knowing eyes.

"All that tequila is gettin to ya if you think Vicki is the enemy." He shook his head with a playful smile crossing the threshold where his boots hit the tile floor of the bathroom, crouching down and starting the bath with a squeak of the taps.

Sydney smiled when she heard him running her a bath, staying in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest as she rocked back and forth giddily. His actions this morning were _almost_ enough to overtake the nervousness that was building as she realized that she would be seeing her wound for the first time without the bandages - and so would he. She felt the anxiety beginning to consume her, she hadn't yet worked up the courage to assess the damage on her own - and now she had to do it in front of an audience that didn't even know the true extent of her injury.

Tig returned to collect Sydney from bed once the bathtub was full, making sure that the water was nice and hot the way that she liked it. He scooped her up into his arms, carrying her into the bathroom and setting her down on the sink where he pulled off the black oversized t-shirt of his that he'd dressed her in the night before.

"Hold on." He instructed as her lifted arms fell around his neck.

Sydney nodded, wrapping her legs around his hips and locked her arms behind his head so that he could pull off the baggy grey sweats she was wearing.

Tig groaned when she pressed her pelvis against his, letting his hands roam over her ass. He smiled when he heard her chuckling, refocusing himself as he gripped the waistband and pulled down the loose bottoms before setting her back down to remove them all of the way, finally moving his eyes to the bandages wrapped around her leg.

"Um." She squeaked with her eyes down once he approached the area.

"We're gonna do this together." He squeezed her shoulders, feeling her quivering under his touch. "But I won't look if you don't want me to."

Sydney inhaled sharply as she weighed her options; she knew that he was going to see it sooner or later, and she also knew that his comforting presence would soften the blow - but she didn't know if she was ready to see the pain behind his eyes when he laid them upon his broken old lady.

"What if… I look first, and then…" She trailed off.

"You can tell me if it's okay?" She looked up into his caring blue eyes, nodding softly. "Okay." He nodded, squeezing her hand before turning his back to the mirror above the sink so that he would still be able to see her face, but not her body.

Sydney took a deep breath as she hopped off of the sink and carefully began unravelling the tensor bandage that was protecting the layer of gauze taped over the entry point, wincing at the sight of the black and yellow bruising covering her entire upper thigh. She took a deep breath - pulling at the corner of the strong medical tape, squeezing her eyes shut as it tugged at the skin surrounding the wound uncomfortably. She flinched when she felt Tig's hand slide into hers where she was clutching the sink, looking up as she felt his warmth spreading through her; fighting her unease with a force much stronger than she expected.

"Like a bandaid." He squeezed her hand with an encouraging smile.

"You do it." She spun around quickly, pushing herself back onto the counter so that he could get it over with before she changed her mind.

"You sure?" Tig asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure now but I might not be in a few seconds." She warned him.

He nodded, taking his place between her legs where he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him so that he had enough leverage, and she had a comforting form of contact to focus on while he did so. He slid his fingers under the corner of the bandage, peeling it back bit by bit until he was satisfied that he could remove it in one swift pull - hugging her tightly while he ripped it off, keeping his eyes averted.

"Jesus!" Sydney flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and digging her nails into his back as she waited for the surge of pain to subside. Her body relaxed as the initial shock wore off quickly, but she was unable to release the breath she was holding while she waited to see what Tig's reaction would be.

"Keep doin that." He growled into her ear playfully - revelling in the sweet, nostalgic sting of her nails in his skin.

"Shut up." She laughed, grateful for the light mood he was trying to create. "Is it bad?" She asked meekly, refusing to do as little as peer down as she stayed in the same position with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"You're sure you want me to look?" Tig was hopeful for the opportunity to show her that he _was _worthy of her trust, that her vulnerability and flaws weren't vulnerability and flaws in his eyes - even if it meant absorbing the sore sight of his old lady; marked and wounded because of him.

"Only if you know that you won't look at me differently…" Sydney mumbled sadly with her nose buried into his shoulder as she inhaled his scent, feeling herself starting to tremble as she prayed to every god she could think of - begging them not to burden her with a repeat of the first time that she'd allowed the men of the M.C. to witness her injuries.

"Never." He whispered truthfully. He could never see her differently, the only person he worried that he would see differently was himself.

"You can look." She whispered shakily after a moment's hesitation - knowing that she needed to do this for the both of them.

Tig nodded, pulling back as he slowly allowed his eyes to travel down her body to the dark bruises surrounding the reddened skin where the stitches were holding the wound together. "Baby…" He whispered.

Sydney felt her guard beginning to fall as her entire body stiffened up, sucking in a deep breath of air as dread filled her lungs and tears filled her eyes - tears of frustration; of humiliation as an angry sob left her throat. How could she have been so stupid to think that this would've been a good idea? She didn't even need to see his eyes to know that he would never look at her as he once did. He would see her as Happy did, as Tank did, as they all did: broken.

"This is badass."

"What?" Her head snapped up to see a proud smile on Tig's face. Besides having to fight off the initial grimace, he was holding up just fine - waiting for the darkness to creep in but it never did. Instead of having to force himself to look, he was admiring her in awe - absorbing her strength as his own in a way that he'd never thought possible.

"C'mere." He pulled her off of the counter to stand in front of him.

"No, no. I don't wanna-"

"Look." He cut her off, turning her face so that she could see in the mirror.

"Wow…" Sydney was surprised. It didn't look nearly as bad as she'd expected it to look. Once the stitches were removed and the bruising faded, it would be nothing but a small scar. She looked up, seeing Tig's blue eyes sparking with adoration in the reflection behind her - the same way that they always had. "You think so?" She asked optimistically as confidence began to refill the crevasses that her insecurities had been inhabiting, turning her body so that she could examine her entire leg.

"Hell yeah." He nodded, guiding her by her shoulders as he too examined the damage, turning her around so that he could stare at her ass with a grin.

Sydney chuckled, resting her forehead against his chest as she smiled gratefully. "Thank you…" She looked up at him with pure eyes.

"No." Tig shook his head. "Thank you." He hugged her, swaying her gently. He was proud of himself, and he knew that he owed it all to her.

Tara lay in the small bed in one of the clubhouse dorms that Jax had claimed for the night - bouncing her knee up and down as she tapped her wrist anxiously. She had never been a 'stay in bed' kind of person, _especially _when that bed wasn't her own. After a poor sleep in the familiarly unfamiliar place, and a restless morning now that Jax wasn't laying next to her - she was desperate to get out of there and back into an environment where she had control over her emotions.

Sydney held onto Tig as he lowered her into the bath water gently, feeling her tense muscles and weary mind soothing instantly as the scalding hot water graced her skin. But as soon as the liquid came into contact with the tender stitches, she felt an excruciating pain crashing through her. Her entire body recoiled, her eyes widening and her heart stopping as she tried to fight it off.

Tig responded immediately when he realized what was happening, supporting her weight with an arm under her shoulder as he shoved his hand into her mouth - letting her bite down as she fought off the pain and got used to the water, muffling her high pitched squealing.

"It's okay, you're okay." He repeated as she clutched at his wrist and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the pressure of her jaw getting weaker and weaker as the pain subsided.

Sydney grimaced as she pulled back, hissing before she was finally able to let out the breath she'd been holding, blinking a few times. "I guess there _is_ such a thing as too hot." She chortled shakily.

"Sorry." Tig winced, reaching over and twisting the cold tap.

"It's my karma." She gave a watery smile as she laid back, letting her body properly relax in the bath - as it always did.

"Here." He handed her the remainder of her coffee and her croissant, hoping that food would be enough of a distraction for her as the water cooled down.

"I still want tacos." She smiled longingly as she accepted her breakfast, sinking her teeth into the flakey pastry.

"Yeah, yeah." Tig groaned with an eyeroll. "How could I forget, you talked about it all night."

"Just planting the seeds, babe." She winked with a giggle, her eye catching the reddening water by her wound where it was washing away the dried blood as she went to take another bite. She winced, feeling her stomach flip as she jerked her eyes away - suddenly she didn't feel so hungry anymore.

"Never thought _you_ would be one to have a weak stomach." Tig commented as she set the baked good back down on the paper bag.

"I only like marks from a fair fight… Or a fight that I won." She shrugged with a playful smile.

"Well, later today…" He waited to finish until she looked into his eyes. "You win." He nodded.

Tara made her way down the hallway quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself as she entered the bar that was littered with passed out party-goers. She looked around the room at the grungy scene that was no place for a doctor, averting her eyes as she ducked into the kitchen for some coffee.

"Good morning." She flinched when he heard the unexpectedly cheerful voice behind her, knocking over the container holding various wooden spoons and whisks as she reached for a mug.

Gemma sat by the sink with a cigarette in her hand, scanning over a nervous Tara as she stood dressed in Jax's t-shirt. Now that the truth was out in the open, she no longer had to hold back on her scheming to push Tara back out. She'd done it before, and she was determined to do it again.

Tara cursed the PTSD that Kohn had tainted her with as she tried to calm her racing heart, but the object of her fright wasn't much less frightening than Kohn would've been. She cleared her throat and straightened her back, regaining her composure as Gemma watched her every move like a hawk. She had been in this position enough times to know that what the matriarch was looking for was a sign of weakness, and she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Good morning." She spoke as level as possible, turning back to what she was doing and pouring herself some coffee.

Gemma side-eyed the younger woman as she attempted to appear strong. She pursed her lips with an approving nod, _she'd gotten smarter since the last time. _She decided to switch tactics, dropping her cigarette butt into the sink and sliding off of the chair. "Can I ask you a question?" She approached her as Tara kept her head down.

Tara inhaled sharply. She knew that if she invited in _any_ conversation in her fragile and now semi-panicked state, she would lose all control of her emotional restraint. "I'm tired, I'm not really up for a fight." She replied shakily, looking between her coffee and Gemma's eyes.

"Oh, not a fight." Gemma feigned offence. "Just tryin to figure out what's goin on…. You and Jax are _obviously_ reconnected."

"Honestly." Tara could physically feel her patience wearing thinner and thinner by the second. "I don't know what we are."

"That's what concerns me." Gemma raised a condescending eyebrow.

Tara fought the urge to roll her eyes, even if she knew that Gemma was right. It was the same thing that Sydney had told her - that she couldn't live this life half in, half out. But she was doing her best to walk the fine line between the two; ride out the grace period like Sydney had suggested before she made her decision.

"You're clearly not one of them." Gemma scoffed as she looked out the door.

"I'm glad that's clear." Tara scoffed back.

"So what happens next?"

"I don't know." Tara shrugged optimistically.

"You become his old lady again?" Gemma suggested, knowing it would trigger the memories of the pressure that she had bowed under all those years ago. "What does that look like? Operating on kids during the day, patching up bullet wounds at night…"

"Okay." Tara snapped. "I get it." She sneered, reaching for her coffee and turning towards the door.

"I know you hate me." Tara stopped. "But this isn't me being some overbearing bitch. This is someone tellin you the truth." She rounded the shorter girl with her hands on her hips. "You and Jax is a bad idea. And someone better start thinking clearly before both of you get hurt."

Tara felt her eyes welling up and her lips quivering as the woman who drove her away in the past, stood in her face - driving that same train all over again. She nodded until she broke down, giving up on the little self control that she could salvage to stay strong. "Well it wouldn't be my first bad idea." She gave a humorless, watery laugh. "It seems to follow me wherever I go." She began hyperventilating.

"You know." Gemma moved in closer, playing off of Tara's mommy issues and uncertainty - acting as if she was just trying to help - the same way she had done in the past. "You are smarter and more strong-willed than anyone I've ever met. You need to shine some of that on this thing with Jax. He's not smart enough right now to do what's right. _You_ have to be the one to break this off." She dropped her voice to a comforting whisper, _the voice of reason._ "Save both of you from somethin bad."

Jax stood at the end of the hallway opposite to Tig's room, waiting until he was satisfied that he had enough time to sneak in and speak to Sydney without getting caught. He watched the dark haired man exit his room, leaving the door open as he descended the hallway and rounded the corner, walking through the bar and to the front door. This was the beginning of Jax's window - he waited until the heavy metal door shut behind before he began his mission, stalking down the hallway towards his target but just as he approached the point where the corridor divided, he was almost run down by Tara storming past him with her head down. He jumped back, his heart stopping when his cover had so quickly been compromised - but luckily she hadn't seen him in her huff. As soon as he was able to catch his breath, he realized that this only caused more problems because not only was his path to Sydney blocked - he now had to deal with whatever it was that had upset her so badly.

Sydney sat on the edge of Tig's bed, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she sat up as tall as she could to try and catch a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror above his dresser, but her eyes landed on something else instead. A smile came to her face as she stood, her grin getting wider as she got closer and closer to see that tucked into the frame around the mirror with all of his photos, were two photos of them from the photobooth at the fair; photos that she didn't even know had been taken - let alone that Tig had thought to keep.

She stood and stared at the photos in awe until something finally came along to distract her from her giddiness, looking out the open door to see Tara stomping down the hall with puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. "Woah, woah woah!" She yelled, stopping the brunette who turned around with a huff. "What's wrong?" She asked with concern.

"You shouldn't be-" Tara hiccuped as the tears of humiliation returned. "Putting weight on your leg so much." She nodded to where Sydney was standing in a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a tiny black tank top that barely covered her midriff.

"I'll sit down if you come tell me what's got you so upset." Sydney crossed her arms in a challenge.

Tara hesitated, not because she didn't want to talk to Sydney, but because she didn't know how she felt about entering Tig's room alone.

"He's getting the van." Sydney chuckled. "But if clean sheets are a deal breaker for you, then you may want to stand."

Tara smiled awkwardly before chuckling at her joke as she tentatively entered the room, walking over and sitting on the end of the bed where Sydney followed.

"What happened?" Sydney grabbed her hands, leaning down to meet her sad eyes.

"The same thing that always happens." She scoffed. "Gemma."

"What'd she do?" Sydney knew that this would happen sooner or later, but she couldn't help be surprised that Gemma had _actually_ kept her word by keeping her mouth shut about Tara until it was public knowledge - her priority really had been the safety of the club.

"Oh you know." Tara laughed humorlessly as she looked up to the ceiling, gluing her hands to her sides. "That me and Jax are a bad idea and that somebody is going to get hurt if I don't break it off."

"Is she right?" Sydney knew that the delivery of Gemma's concern had actively missed the mark - a recurring theme with the brash woman - but she herself had also half wondered if Tara's recent effort was just because she was too scared to be alone after Kohn.

"What?" Tara recoiled, her defensive instincts taking over before her brain could catch up. "No, she isn't. But even if she was, it's none of her business!" She sneered.

Tara's reaction was all Sydney needed to know that her worry wasn't necessary - if it was, the uptight doctor would've squirmed and lied as she had done under previous accusations. She sat with a raised eyebrow and knowing smirk as she stared Tara down, watching the offence fading from her face as she realized what the blonde girl's play had been the entire time.

"Okay." Tara rolled her eyes with a smile, remembering the impactful advice that Sydney had given her in the hospital and how this wasn't all that different. "I get what you're saying. She's just trying to protect the club…"

"Look… If you hurt, then Jax hurts. If Jax hurts, the club hurts. If the club hurts…" She trailed off. "You see where I'm going with this?" Tara nodded understandingly. "Jax wears his heart on his sleeve, Gemma knows that. She knows the kind of woman that he needs, and she knows that woman when she sees it. She wouldn't deny her son of a good old lady, so if you think that a good old lady is what you can be, what you _want_ to be… Then show her."

"Well that didn't take you long." Gemma heard the smug voice behind her from where she stood in the kitchen, knowing exactly who it belonged to.

"I could say the same to you." She smirked, finally looking over to see Sydney standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a sly look on her face, nodding to the leg that she wasn't supposed to be standing on.

Sydney chuckled, winking to the devious woman as she turned her attention to Tig who was barrelling down the hallway in search of her. "What the hell?" He held out his arms as he feigned confusion. "I thought the whole reason I was bringing the van around back was so that you _didn't_ have to do this?" He gestured to her stance.

"Change of plans." She smiled sweetly. "I'm ready to go now though." She held her arms out so that he could pick her up.

Tig looked between the two women who were doing their best to look innocent even though he knew that they were anything but - grumbling as he shook his head and lifted her into his arms.

"You wanna say goodbye to anyone?" He nodded to the open room where the hoards of men were still passed out - knowing that they would be long gone by the time she returned.

"Nah." She answered coldly with her eyes fixed on the SAMDINO rockers.

Tig watched as her eyes hardened, lingering for a few seconds longer in case she changed her mind - hoping that she would change her mind - but as soon as she looked at him when he didn't budge, he knew that wasn't going to happen. He nodded formally, respecting her wishes and carrying her down the hall to the van where he placed her into the passenger seat and kissed her on the cheek before making his way around to the drivers side where he took off towards her house.

Jax grumbled from across the parking lot as he watched his one last chance at salvation, driving away. There was nothing he could do to save Opie now.

"I'm gonna go load up while you get ready. Call Laroy to confirm the meet." Tig spoke with his grip firm on the wheel.

Sydney nodded, pulling a burner out of the glovebox. "Part crates?" She wanted to be sure that they were still taking precautions, even if they weren't crossing state lines.

"Yeah." Tig nodded.

Sydney felt a blush coming to her cheeks as butterflies dipped down below her belly button as his arms flexed around the steering wheel. She _loved_ when Tig was on Sergeant mode - he was rough, authoritative, and _all _business. She let her eyes linger as he kept his glued to the road, finally getting herself back on track as she flipped the phone open and began dialing Laroy's number.

"We go take care of Esai, then meet up with Jax, Ope and Bobby for the drop with Laroy after they're done with Hefner in Oakland." He relayed the rest of the plan before pulling into her driveway as she held the phone to her ear and nodded, leaning over so that he could kiss her goodbye.

Tig pecked her lips, nodding as she opened the door. "You need help?"

"Hi Teaj." Sydney began her phone call, winking back at him as she shut the door and shimmied up to her front door with a proud smile on her face. Between finding the photos on the mirror, the way Tig had taken care of her all morning, and what she knew the afternoon would bring - today was shaping up to be exactly the day that she needed.

Opie and Jax sat in the blue pickup truck that they'd jacked for the hit while Bobby confirmed the location, neither of them having spoken a single word since their standoff this morning in the garage.

"Look, I'm ready for this, brother." Opie broke the awkward silence. The whole reason he was doing this in the first place was to remove the hostility in his life between him and his wife, he didn't need to replace it with hostility between him and his best friend. "Let's just get it done." He looked over his shoulder at Jax who sat in the backseat with the same troubled expression he'd had on this face this morning.

"Alright." Jax agreed after a moment's hesitation. He still didn't like this, and he still didn't intend on allowing Opie to become exposed to the same life-changing turmoil that he'd been exposed to only a few short days ago, but he realized that he wasn't going to be able to talk himself out of this one, he was going to have to do what a real VP would do and _act_.

"His grey Mercedes' in the garage." Bobby nodded to Opie through the open passenger window as he approached the truck.

"Which apartment?" Opie asked as he studied the printed photo of the Port Commissioner that had been stuffed in his pocket.

"Unit nine. Top floor, third from the right."

"Cameras cover the garage, we should do this on the upper level." Jax suggested.

"If this guy has half a brain he's gonna be cautious _and_ armed." Bobby nodded.

Jax nodded slowly. "If anyone walks into this, has an eyeline, we abort. No risks."

Bobby nodded his agreement. "Ope, you take the front steps, I'll take the back." Opie took off towards his post. "You stay in case he gets by."

"Nah." Jax shook his head when everything started unfolding faster than he could plan for it. "Ope! I'm gonna take the front-"

"It's the way Clay wanted it." Bobby reminded his younger brother with a calm tone. He didn't want any more power struggles between the prince and the king, and he knew that Opie carrying out this hit was a mean to that end.

Jax looked past the shorter man at Opie who stood across the parking lot, shaking his head in confusion - not knowing what the hold up was for. He was searching his brain for _any_ way to get them out of this, but he couldn't. He couldn't talk _or_ act himself out of this one - and the one person that could've was miles and miles away.

"I know…" Bobby nodded when he saw Jax's worry - a worry that he shared, but he knew that they would have much more to worry about if this didn't play out exactly as planned.

"Alright…" Jax relented, placing his trust in the level headed man that he had always been able to rely on. "Watch him…" He whispered out of the side of his mouth as they began walking towards Opie.

"Alright, I got your back in case he gets by you. The second this goes down, I'm in the car, motor running."

"Okay." Opie nodded, taking off up the steps to the front door of the dingy apartment unit with Bobby in tow, leaving a weary Jax in their wake.

"You're not covering it?" Tig nodded in half worry, half confusion as he looked over the fully exposed wound that Sydney had been terrified to show him just hours before.

"You don't like it?" Sydney pouted as she looked down at the short, frilly, mint green dress she was wearing.

"No." Tig's eyes widened as he shook his head rapidly. "Of course I do…" He husked as he raked over her figure in the tight garment. "I just don't want you to get hurt…" He knew that the day's activities could easily cause an infection or even worse - disruption to the wound itself.

Sydney chuckled at his worry that he'd offended her. She slid into the passenger seat with a smile on her face, having accomplished her mission. "I'll cover it after." She held up the purse that she'd stuffed with medical supplies. "But I need it for something first…"

Marcus Alvarez sat at a picnic table with Esai in the quiet park just outside of Lodi. He watched as his son sat across from him, trembling with fear over how badly he had disappointed his father - completely unaware that this was the last time he would do so.

"Hey, relax huh?" The older man nodded. "Shit happens man."

"Yeah, I know." Esai tried to brush off the awful feeling that he had about the consequences of the two horribly executed hits. "I'm sorry, Pop…"

"Because of your mistake, I had a sit down with SAMCRO. Made a deal with them - gonna start selling us guns."

"That's good." Esai nodded, shocked by the news. He never thought he would see the day that his dad would make peace with white, let alone see the day that he would've been part of that transition.

"That happened because of you, okay? It's okay man…" Alvarez looked past him to the little blonde at the churro stand he'd had set up. "Let's go get a churro…" He stood, throwing his arm around his son's shoulder as he led him to his demise.

Esai smirked as they walked towards the mexican snack stand, eyeing the gorgeous girl in the tight green dress, his smirk growing to a grin when she bent over to grab something as they approached.

"What can I get you boys?" Sydney greeted the two men with a smile as she held the knife behind her back.

The younger Alvarez felt himself starting to panic, but he couldn't figure out why. Something about the girl's voice ticked a memory in the back of his brain that was telling him to run. Then he saw it, the dark bruising covering her thigh, surrounding the stitched up bullet hole...

"Pop." He gasped, turning around with wide eyes where his father pulled him into a hug - effectively holding him in place.

"I love you, mi hijo." The Mayan President winced as he felt the knife plunge into the back of his son's neck, holding him up as he gasped for air until he felt his last breath leave his heaving chest, lowering him to the ground with watery eyes.

Sydney felt the rush of satisfaction overtake her entire body - a feeling that only complete and total revenge could provide. She closed her eyes, revelling in the wave of peace with the sun on her face and the distant sound of the banjos in the background. She inhaled deeply, letting herself ride out the high while Alvarez composed himself before she finally opened her eyes, watching as he kissed his son on the head before getting to his feet.

The dark haired man pulled the folded envelope out of his back pocket as he took a deep breath, handing it to Sydney and sharing a respectful nod with the young girl before he turned to leave - he had a funeral to plan.

* * *

**Another body for our Cali Queen 😏**


	58. The Rebuild

**aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask and submissions are open!)**

_**General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 58: THE REBUILD**

"Hey, we need to talk." Jax panted as he stood outside of the van where Sydney sat in the driver's seat with her window rolled down and a cigarette in her hand, looking over his shoulder as Laroy pulled up behind them in his black Escalade.

"Have anything to do with why you wanted to see me this morning?" Sydney didn't move her eyes from the side mirror where she watched Opie, Tig, and Bobby standing at the back of the van loading the AKs into the crates in preparation for the hand off - bringing the cigarette to her lips and taking a long drag.

"Yeah." He grimaced.

"I'll send Laroy to you with the cash." She blew the smoke out of the side of her mouth. "You bring it to me while they're loading everything up."

"Got it." He nodded.

"The hell's all this-" Bobby scowled as his eyes scanned the back of the van before he was cut off.

"Don't worry about it." Tig hushed, continuing his job as he looked toward the front of the van to be sure that Sydney hadn't heard.

"Well, well, well." Laroy crooned as he walked up to the van. "If it aint the Cali Queen _finally _makin an appearance."

"If I gave it all up right away, you wouldn't come back for more." Sydney gave a forced smile, she could tell by the tone of his taunt and the sour expression on his face that this was not playful banter, this was a warning.

"I aint usually a patient man." He raised his brows. "Especially when I keep givin chances that I aint wanna be givin in the first place, and you keep blowin them…"

Sydney bit her tongue and fought the urge to roll her eyes through his lecture, leaning out the window and giving a flirty wave to Teaj when she caught him winking at her through the mirror.

"About my patience…" Laroy warned her again, raising his voice as he stared her down until she slumped back into her seat and looked up at him.

"Yeah, yeah." She responded apathetically. "We had a little problem." She lifted the hem of her dress, showing off her battle wound. "I'm here now, no need to get your panties in a bunch."

The gang leader's eyes widened in shock when he saw the severity of her injury, knowing by the size of the wound that it had to have been a bullet. He looked back up, meeting her pale green eyes where he looked at her with both concern and question. Apparently the Niners weren't the only ones that SAMCRO had pissed off and sent her to deal with...

"Don't worry, Mr. Wayne. There's still plenty of me to go around." She winked. "You can give the money to my VP, he's good with his hands." She purred, looking away from him with a smirk.

Laroy scoffed as he jerked his head away, stalking towards the back of the van where he took his frustration out on his men - ordering them to load the crates faster before he grabbed the black bag containing the discounted amount from the front seat of his SUV and threw it at the blonde man.

Jax glared at the taller man, his gaze lingering as he strutted back towards the van, climbing into the passenger seat where he unzipped the bag and tossed it aside. He scowled when he looked up to see Sydney staring ahead distantly in some sort of trance - not acknowledging his presence in the slightest.

"Got somethin on your mind?" He mused with a raised brow as he slid a cigarette into his mouth.

"A reconciling…" She muttered, still not being pulled from her thoughts.

"Between?"

"My past and my future..." She squinted as she nodded slowly. "What'd you have to tell me?" She finally shook her head, focusing her eyes on the worried man to her right.

"Before it was ask… Now it was tell." Jax grimaced, choosing to ignore her display of mild insanity.

"Go on." She nodded.

"I didn't want Ope on this hit…" He admitted regrettably, looking away before she could chastise him. "I know, okay. I don't need to hear it."

"Why not?" She stayed calm. On any other day, she probably would've been more concerned with Jax going against the decisions of the club yet again, but she had more important things than old news on her mind today.

"Guess I just didn't want him to get pulled in like I did… He's not ready."

"Admitting that you weren't ready now?" Sydney smirked.

"Not at all." He chuckled. "But I'm here now…"

"You don't think Opie will show up the same way?"

"I haven't told you what happened yet…" He grimaced. "Ope choked… That's why I didn't want him on it. I _knew_ he wasn't ready." He shook his head angrily.

"What the fuck happened?" Sydney didn't understand, if Opie had failed to carry out the hit, then how did they manage to get the guns?

"Bobby pulled it. He's gonna tell Clay that Ope did it…"

"Jax." Sydney groaned. "This is a mess." She ran her hands over her face.

"I know… But maybe this aint so bad." He shrugged. "Think of it this way: Clay stays happy and Ope gets what he wants - the payout. He knows he can't handle the heavy shit so he'll stay far away from it in the future."

"Or he feels the need to prove that he can and he pushes even harder."

"Yeah…" Jax scoffed when she killed his optimism. "Or that…"

"Guess we'll see…"

"So how would you've done it?" He smirked over at her.

"Made him a better offer, told him the feds were watching, gave the wrong address, said Juice's intel was bad..." She rattled off just a few of her ideas easily.

Jax snickered, shaking his head. "This is why we need you around." He smiled, giving her a nod of respect before he slid out of the passenger seat, taking the bag of cash with him.

Tig drove the van through the tall redwood trees while Sydney stared out the window silently, as she had the entire ride since she'd carried out her hit. "Come on babe, I took the long way through the trees just for you." He teased, jostling her knee lightly.

"Sorry." She apologized weakly, shifting her distant stare from the road ahead, to the trees beside her.

Tig's eyes widened and his brow raised. "You uh, you okay?" He looked over at her with concern.

"Just thinking."

"You're scarin me." He joked, hoping that the lighthearted approach would get more information from her.

"I just feel… Different." She nodded slowly. What she was feeling wasn't shock, it was a revelation; the revelation that this time, she'd gotten what she wanted, and she did it on her own - not with Happy's help or her dad's permission. She hadn't avenged the SAMDINO Princess or the Cali Queen, she had avenged herself - Sydney Harding.

"Hopefully not different enough that you realize you're too good for me." He chuckled, sliding his hand into hers.

"I could never feel _that_ different." Her lips curled up, placing her other hand over his as she ran her thumb across his knuckles where she examined his rings, looking up just in time to catch the road sign for Highway 1. "Where are we going?" She scowled with excitement behind her eyes.

"To get tacos." He smirked.

Tara walked through the hospital halls, the sound of her white tennis shoes echoing against the tiles as she stopped by room after room, completing her rounds until she finally reached her last stop of the day: Abel. She smiled as she approached the clear incubator, scowling once she saw that it was empty. That could only mean one thing… Gemma. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself for another interrogation, smiling politely as she entered the room and walked straight towards the clipboard in hopes that if she looked busy, she would be left alone.

Gemma watched Tara as she pretended to be studying the notes in front of her, smiling as she turned her attention back to her grandson. She knew that she'd succeeded in getting her point across this morning, there was no need to beat a dead horse.

Once Tara no longer felt the glare of the matriarch, she looked at the wholesome scene out of the corner of her eye: Gemma, caring for Jax's son… Wendy's son… The son that should be hers. That was when it hit her: what she needed to do to prove that she could be a good old lady for Jax… She needed to be a mother; resilient and fierce like the woman before her - that was the only way she would earn her respect.

Sydney sat in the passenger seat with a giant smile plastered on her face this time. She was buzzing with excitement as Tig drove them to their mystery destination, complete with a giant box of tacos and a pint of strawberry-lemonade sorbet.

"There's that smile I like to see…" Tig grinned, reaching over and running his thumb down her chin as he turned her to face him.

"You really outdid yourself, babe." She shook her head as she scanned the sides of the road for any clues about where they were going.

"You don't even know where we're goin yet." He chuckled.

"I don't have to." She smiled softly, lacing her fingers in his.

Tig smiled as the warmth of familiarity spread through him, providing him the relief he so desperately needed to be able to accept that Sydney _was_ okay and that she wasn't permanently damaged from the bullet that he'd failed to shield her from.

"Shit." He pulled his eyes away from her captivating gaze once he realized that they were getting close. "Close your eyes, and hold on." He reached over and pulled a bandana from the glovebox, dropping it in her lap before returning his hand to the wheel.

Sydney scowled when the printed polyester landed in her lap, holding it up and looking at him incredulously. "What?" Tig groaned impatiently. "I don't trust you."

"You _really_ want me to blindfold myself?" She laughed.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" He raised a brow.

Sydney shrugged smugly, doing what she was told and wrapping the black fabric around her eyes where she tied it behind her head just in time.

Tig breathed a sigh of relief as he turned the van into the park entrance off of the main road, driving past the small parking lot. "Hold on." He reminded her, grabbing her hand and guiding it towards the handle above her head.

Sydney whimpered when his hand made contact with hers so unexpectedly, feeling his forearm graze across her chest - the blindfold heightening every single one of her senses.

Tig smirked when he saw her cheeks reddening, shaking his head with a chuckle as he began descending the steep and bumpy hill as the paved road turned to dirt.

"Jesus christ." Sydney groaned as she leveraged her other arm against the seat and did her best to keep the food balanced on her lap. "Are you driving us down a fucking cliff?"

"May as well be." Tig chuckled, quickly bringing the vehicle to the bottom where he backed onto the empty beach. "Okay now." He instructed. "I need you to stay right here, and don't turn this down." He cranked the volume on the shitty stereo in the old van.

Sydney shook her head in confusion, wondering what on earth he could be up to. "Uh, o-oka-" She was cut off by his lips crashing into hers before she could ask any questions, the unexpected sensation shocking her and bringing a blush to her cheeks once again.

Tig hurried to get everything set up before their food could get cold, hoping that the sound of the blaring rock music was enough to mask the sound of the rolling waves and the banging around that he was doing in the back of the van while she sat only a few feet away at the front. Once he was finally satisfied, he made his way back around to the passenger side, pulling her door open and pressing his lips against her cheek.

"Gotta do one more thing." He spoke into her ear so that she would be able to hear him over the music, not wanting to give up any clues just yet - reaching for her purse where he found the gauze, medical tape, and tensor bandage. "Can I?" He placed the soft material against her leg so she would know what it was that he was asking.

Sydney shivered when he touched her so gently, whispering his requests into her ear so softly. "Mhm." She hummed, trying as hard as she could to keep the moan out of her voice.

Tig smirked when she started squirming. He hadn't at all intended for the blindfold to serve any other purpose than to conceal what he'd had planned for her, but he couldn't help but pat himself on the back for the inadvertent turn on - seeing her hot, bothered, and unable to hide it.

"I'll be gentle." He brushed his lips along her jaw as his fingers trailed between her thighs lightly, dragging them all the way down to her ankle where he lifted her leg and rested it onto his shoulder.

Sydney bit her lip, containing her smile as he continued to tease her with the unnecessary position, spreading her legs before him.

Tig froze when he got an eyeful of the _tiny_ scrap of white lace covering her underneath her dress, sucking in a deep breath as he tried to keep himself focused. "Thought you'd need more room." She explained innocently, but her smirk was pure evil. She hadn't even needed to see his face to know the effect that she had on him.

He just shook his head and rolled his eyes, clearly he didn't have as much of an upper hand as he thought he did - but he was going to get it. "Hold this for me." He took her hand, dragging it down her body slowly until her fingertips reached the edge of the gauze that he was holding over her wound. "Tight." He ordered.

"Tight… I think I can do that…" She rasped suggestively as she slid forward, the tiny dress pushing further up her thighs.

"I know you can, baby." He nodded with a growl in his voice, moving on to the tape where he peeled up a strip and tore it off with his teeth.

"Open." Sydney heard as his fingers grazed her pouty lips, parting them as he slid the strip of tape between her teeth, the tip of his finger grazing the tip of her tongue.

Once Tig ripped off the fourth and final strip of tape, he began securing down the gauze - taking each strip out of her mouth slowly, letting his fingers tangle with her tongue before dragging them down her lips. On the last one, he let his wet digits fall to her chest, listening to her whimper as the cool breeze rushed over her.

"I think we need one more…" He pondered tauntingly before he grabbed the tape and tilted her head back, holding her chin firmly as he slid the end of the roll into her mouth and pulled, his eyes rolling back as she whimpered in his grip. "Better." He praised as he placed the final piece on, circling her waist as he pulled her flush against him so that he could apply enough pressure to properly adhere the bandage without hurting her.

Sydney expected to feel pain when she realized what he was doing, but instead of a grunt or a cry coming from her lips as he applied the pressure - she heard a moan as her barely covered crotch ground against the prominent bulge in his jeans.

Tig's blood ran cold when her heavenly whimpering hit his ears even above the music. He slowly let her go, fighting the urge to give in early - but he knew that anticipation was what she thrived off of - and that was what he was going to give her.

He wrapped the tensor bandage around her leg agonizingly slow, letting his fingers wander and his grip linger until he was finally finished. He secured the cloth in place tightly with the silver pins, sliding one hand under her thigh while trailing the other hand up to her ankle where he lowered her leg from his shoulder and began to pull away.

"Don't stop." Sydney begged shakily, feeling her entire body trembling with anticipation.

Tig obeyed immediately, letting himself give in as he wrapped her leg around his hip and squeezed her thigh as his other hand firmly grasped the back of her neck and pulled her to his lips where he devoured her sweet mouth.

Sydney moaned freely when he finally kissed her exactly the way she'd wanted: slow, sensual, dirty - the kinds of kisses that _always_ led to more. She gripped at his shirt, balling it in her fists as she pulled him closer and ground her pelvis against his.

"Now?" He chuckled.

"I need you." She nodded desperately with a pout in her voice.

"It'll ruin your surprise…" He warned, attaching his lips to her jaw where he suckled lightly, moving to the sensitive spot below her ear.

"Then keep my blindfold on…" She moaned.

Tig smirked against her neck, feeling his arousal doubling as her erotic words pumped all of the blood in his body straight to his dick. "You don't even know where we are… There could be tons of people around, watching you right now - hot, wet, and begging for me." He breathed the taunting words in her ear as he began nipping at her neck.

"I don't care." She threw her arm around his shoulder, digging her nails into the thin cotton of his black t-shirt. "As long as I have you…"

"You naughty girl…" He grinned, not pulling away from her neck as he moved his hand from it to undo his belt buckle. "How did I get so lucky?" He asked as he pulled her to the very edge of the seat, holding her tightly against him as he pulled her panties to the side.

"Because you do things like this." She choked out as he lined himself up with her slick entrance.

"You deserve the world, angel." His smooth voice hit her ears right as he pushed inside of her, making her cry out as she clutched to him - her head rolling back as her inner muscles relaxed around him.

"And you give it to me." She whimpered, hugging him tightly as she slid forward until he was full sheathed inside of her, listening to him groan in response as his grip tightened around her waist.

"Not nearly enough…" He shook his head, placing his hand on her neck where he tilted her lips up towards his and kissed her passionately as he began to make love to her.

Sydney moaned and mewled softly with every slow, deep stroke - her eyes rolling into the back of her skull even behind the bandana covering them. Even without her sight, she could see clear as day that this was more than just sex - she could feel everything; every last bit of tension that she was harbouring being released as he brought her to the blissful peace that she had been missing. It wasn't like they _hadn't_ had sex, but their makeup period had been cut _drastically_ short by her injury - and her injury had drastically changed the way they that had sex.

"I love you." She cried out, clutching to him as she felt her body getting tighter and tighter, the hot tingling of her orgasm building in her core. "I wanna see you…" She whined, holding on for as long as possible. "When I cum… I wanna see you."

Tig ripped off the blindfold, filling her eyes with the one sight that she would've given anything to have as her last: his blue eyes, staring into hers longingly with his pupils blown out as he showed her just how much she loved her.

"I love you so much." He whispered as he shook his head in admiration, resting his forehead against hers as he brought them both to their releases at the same time, panting as he guided her backwards so that they could come down.

Sydney lay with her head resting against the armrest of the driver's seat, staring at the upholstered ceiling as her head span and the loud music filled her ears while Tig lay slumped over, still inside of her as he rested his head on her chest and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Still don't know where we are?" He asked as he lifted his head and lowered the volume.

"No." She smiled bashfully. "I was only looking at you…"

Tig felt a genuine smile coming to his lips. "Close your eyes." He pressed a kiss to her warm skin, straightening up where he got himself situated before doing the same to her.

"Are we at the beach?" She asked excitedly once she was focused on her surroundings instead of on him - hearing the crashing waves and the seagulls instead of his voice, smelling the salty air instead of his cologne.

"I don't know… Are we?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, lifting her from the seat and lowering her to the ground where her bare feet sunk instantly into the sand.

"I think we are." She grinned, feeling her happiness bubbling in her chest.

"I think you might be right… But you need to keep your eyes closed a little longer." He chuckled as he held her hand, guiding her to the back of the van. "Okay, you can look."

Sydney snapped her eyes open eagerly, but she was completely taken aback by the sight before her. "Wow…" She blinked a few times, trying to catch her breath from the wave of emotion she was hit with. She thought that the beach was a surprise enough, but what she was truly surprised by was the amount of effort and thought that he had put into what she was looking at. Never in a million years had she expected the romantic scene of the van-turned-bed, backed onto the beach so that they could stare out at the ocean - complete with the dinner she'd been craving all day, a sweet dessert, and a dozen yellow roses.

"Now _this_ has gotta be the proposal." She scoffed, looking up at him with a smile.

Tig chuckled, looking down at the sand bashfully. "You like it?" He looked back up, squinting in the sun.

"Do I like it?" She asked incredulously as she shook her head, still in awe that he had managed to pull this off - having hidden everything in the back of the van just feet away from her. "Baby… I love it." Suddenly she felt an overwhelming amount of guilt creeping in, filling the dark and dangerous crevasses of her mind that he had only just cleared out minutes ago. "But… You don't have to do all of this… Not for me." She started shaking her head rapidly. She didn't want him to feel like he had to bend over backwards - be someone that he's not - just for her; the person who less than twenty-four hours ago was doing drugs behind his back, and less than two weeks ago was climbing into bed with his brothers.

"Don't." Tig shook his head, grabbing her face in his hands. "A few days ago, you told me that you wanted me to know how much you wanted me back." Tig thought back to the emotional night in the hospital, momentarily feeling his own guilt over how poorly he'd handled the situation - taking off like a pussy when she needed him most. But he shook the thought away, today he was righting that wrong. "This is me showing you how thankful I am. I know that shit aint easy to earn with you…" He scoffed, still having a hard time understanding how he'd managed to score a second chance with her. "And I'm not gonna take it for granted."

Sydney had no choice but to trust the blaring sincerity behind his eyes. She brought her hands up to his, stroking them gently as she nodded. "Thank you…"

"Don't thank me. Thank _you_ for giving me a second chance."

"I'm not special enough to deserve all of this as a thank you." She rolled her eyes with a playful smile.

"There aint a person in the world more special than you." Tig assured her. Part of him felt guilty for robbing her of the confidence that she'd had when he met her - but the other part of him selfishly clung to it because even in his darkest hours, it was the most undeniable proof he had that she loved him.

For the first time in her life, Sydney actually found herself resenting the fact that she had grown up with men. She was so convinced that after twenty-two years of watching the men she knew get bored of their women, that the same would happen to her. The SAMDINO guys had always told her that she was far too high maintenance and that only a special man would be able to handle her, and until recently she had always taken pride in that. But since meeting Tig, she worried that being too high maintenance; too much to handle - would drive him away, that it was too much to ask from the life of a biker. But as he had so many times, Tig had managed to prove her wrong - prove that _he_ was the special man who could handle her, that he wanted her - all of her. Just like she wanted all of him.

* * *

_**Song for this chapter: No Flockin - Kodak Black**_


End file.
